Mid-Del Shine Bright At The MLB All-Star Game

By Brayden Conover - Previous Staff Member

Mid-Del was heavily represented at the 87th MLB All-Star Game on July 17 in Washington, D.C.
  From the National League (NL), Los Angeles Dodger outfielder and former Midwest City Bomber Matt Kemp made his third All-Star appearance. Miami Marlins catcher and former Carl Albert standout J.T. Realmuto earned the first All-Star honors of his young career. The American League was lead by Houston Astros manager and former Midwest City Bomber, AJ Hinch.

  Kemp, class of 2003, has been in the Majors since 2006. His first stint with the Dodgers lasted from 2006 to 2014 when he was traded to the San Diego Padres during the 2014 offseason. While in LA, Kemp won the 2009 and 2011 Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards for his work both at the plate and in the outfield. His career with the Padres lasted less than two  seasons as he was dealt to the Atlanta Braves in July of 2016. Kemp started for the NL in left field and reached base once in two at-bats.
  Realmuto, a three-sport varsity athlete from Carl Albert’s illustrious 2010 graduating class, has been in the Majors since 2014. Realmuto chose to play professionally and forgo a baseball career at Oklahoma State. The decision proved to be a good one as Realmuto has become one of the elite catchers in the game. He looks to be the cornerstone that the Miami Marlins are looking to build around. As the Marlins have dismantled their entire franchise, Realmuto has stayed put. With the exits of stars like Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Christian Yelich,  the Marlins have held onto Realmuto to help rebuild their franchise. Realmuto had no official at-bats as he drew two walks and was batted in to help tie the game off of a Scooter Gennett game tying home run in the ninth.
  Hinch, class of 1992, was the National Gatorade Player of the Year for baseball his senior year. Although Hinch was picked in the second round of the 1992 MLB Draft, he elected to attend Stanford University to get a degree. In 1996 Hinch played for Team USA and won a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Hinch had a seven-year MLB career playing for four different teams. His last appearance came in 2004 with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2009, the Arizona Diamondbacks hired Hinch as their manager. Midway through the 2010 season, the Diamondbacks split with Hinch after a poor start to the season. In September of 2010, Hinch took a role as the vice president of scouting performance with the San Diego Padres, a role he resigned from in 2014. Hinch was named manager of the Houston Astros in September of 2014. Since then, he has lead the Astros from the bottom of the league in 2015 to World Series Champions in 2017. Hinch and the AL All-Stars beat the NL in dramatic fashion with an 8-6 win in the 10th inning.