Mariners left-hander Yusei Kikuchi honored by All-Star selection
When earning a spot on the American League All-Star team was first mentioned as a possibility and that his manager was advocating for him, Yusei Kikuchi’s face turned red with humility.
Though grateful for the sentiment and proud of his performance, the idea of playing in the midsummer classic as one of the best players in Major League Baseball is something he simply couldn’t talk about or even think about.
And even Sunday afternoon, shortly after Scott Servais held a team meeting to inform Kikuchi he was the Mariners’ lone All-Star Game selection, the sheepishness returned and tears welled up in his eyes.
“First off, I’m extremely happy, just very happy to hear this news,” he said through interpreter Kevin Ando. “And more importantly, I just feel really thankful for my teammates, coaches and just everyone being there for me, and my family just always supporting me through the ups and downs, especially my first two years here. I’m just really, really thankful for everyone supporting me.”
He showed similar emotion in the team meeting.
“He kind of put his head down,” Servais said. “He did get up and talk to the whole group, which I thought was fantastic. Thanking everybody, he got very emotional. As he said to the group, ‘I’ve had my struggles here for a couple years, but you guys have helped me along the way.’ ”
This is Kikuchi’s first All-Star selection in Major League Baseball. He was a three-time All-Star selection in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball while playing for the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2013, 2017 and 2018. Kikuchi was signed to a four-year, $58 million contract before the 2019 season by Seattle,
Kikuchi, 30, has been the Mariners’ best pitcher this season and one of the top left-handed pitchers in baseball.
In 15 starts, he is 6-3 with a 3.18 ERA, 93 strikeouts and 31 walks in 931/3 innings. Of those 15 starts, 11 have been quality starts of six-plus innings pitched and three or fewer runs allowed, which is tied for the most of any left-handed starter in the American League and tied for the most in MLB with L.A.’s Clayton Kershaw.
In his past 11 starts, Kikuchi is 6-2 with a 2.33 ERA , 22 walks and 73 strikeouts in 692/3 innings. Over that span, he’s held opponents to a .173 batting average, which is the lowest in the AL.
His performance and ability to pitch deep into games has been vital for a Mariners’ six-man starting rotation that has been decimated by injuries this season and a bullpen that has been used heavily to fill in those open rotation days.
Kikuchi is the 14th Japanese-born player to be selected to participate in a Major League Baseball All-Star Game. He joins Ichiro (10 times), Yu Darvish (five), Hideki Matsui (two), Kazuhiro Sasaki (two), Masahiro Tanaka (two), Hideo Nomo, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito, Kosuke Fukudome, Iwakuma, Koji Uehara and Shohei Ohtani.
Of the 14 Japanese-born players to make an MLB All-Star roster, five have been in a Seattle uniform: Ichiro, Sasaki, Kikuchi, Hasegawa and Iwakuma.
Servais was irritated with J.P. Crawford not being selected. The Mariners shortstop has been Seattle’s best player over the past two months. But the fans voted in Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox while Carlos Correa of the Astros was selected by the players’ vote and Bo Bichette of the Blue Jays was chosen by manager Kevin Cash.
“Obviously disappointed that J.P. Crawford did not make the team,” Servais said. “I think he’s very deserving of it. He’s really been driving the bus here for us. He’s done heck of a job all year long. So for me, personally, and I know organizationally, we’re disappointed he did not make the team, but things like that happen. ”