Left-handed relief pitcher Joe Mantiply will represent the Arizona Diamondbacks at the 2022 MLB All-Star Game on July 19 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
The moment Mantiply’s dream became reality. pic.twitter.com/HcyUOHYehb
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 10, 2022
“It means the world,” Mantiply said postgame on Sunday. “My career has been a little bit of a grind up to this point. Seeing all the hard work come to fruition kind of feels about as good as it can.”
“I’m glad that my parents could be here. They’re from Virginia so they don’t get to this side of the country. For them to make it is a really good feeling. They have been with me the whole way and pushed me as hard as anyone.”
The All-Star Game will have a representative from each team in the MLB and Mantiply was chosen from Arizona. With a 38-47 record, the D-backs’ only representative was the reliever.
Mantiply has been not only the D-backs’ most dominant reliever, but one of the best in the major leagues. He has posted a 1.91 ERA and .88 WHIP across 34 games.
In those 34 games, Mantiply has only given up a run in three of the games.
There were a couple of other players that could have been selected for Arizona but fell on the outside of the cut. Second baseman Ketel Marte, RHP Zac Gallen and first baseman Christian Walker were all thought of as contenders for a spot in L.A.
Marte last made the National League team in 2019 where he started in the game, but this season the second baseman bats .265 with six home runs, 27 RBIs and 55 walks in 77 games.
Gallen has been the D-backs’ ace starting pitcher since arriving in a trade from the Miami Marlins in 2019. In 2022 Gallen has a 3.62 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 84 strikeouts in 16 starts.
One of the pieces in the D-backs’ farm system he was traded for was second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. Chisholm will start at second base for the National League this year.
Walker has been a staple in Arizona’s lineup at first base. Although he has not hit for a high average (.211), his 21 home runs ranks fourth in the National League, just six behind Washington Nationals’ Kyle Schwarber.
Eduardo Escobar represented the D-backs in 2021 after the league cancelled the game in 2020 due to COVID-19.