ARLINGTON — Corey Seager and his wife Madisyn had planned to spend the All-Star break on vacation in an undisclosed location.
Instead, after Minnesota’s Carlos Correa pulled out of Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Globe Life Field late Sunday afternoon to nurse plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the Texas Rangers shortstop accepted an invitation to replace him in the midsummer classic.
“Any time you can make the All-Star team, it’s a good thing,” said Seager, who learned that he’d need to tweak his off-week plans while the Rangers were on their plane ride back from Houston on Sunday night. “It’s exciting, especially in front of the home crowd.”
Consider it a veteran’s understanding of both the importance of the event and the honor that comes along with it. Because, make no mistake, Seager is now a seasoned veteran.
It’s still to-be-determined as to whether he’s ready to believe that or not.
Tuesday’s contest at the ballpark in which he’s had ludicrous success will be Seager’s fifth All-Star Game. He was a 22-year-old rookie when he was selected to his first eight seasons ago with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He, Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper (who then played for the Washington Nationals) and Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna (then with the Miami Marlins) are the only three representatives from that year’s National League roster that will compete in this year’s installment. Now at 30, Seager is the ninth-oldest player on the American League’s 32-man roster.
“You calling me old?” Seager joked Monday when asked if he’d considered the fact that he’s no longer the new kid on the block.
Hardly, Corey. Let’s rephrase it as experienced. Seager — now with two World Series MVP trophies and an AL MVP runner-up honor on his resume — can go hardware-for-hardware with the best of the best at Tuesday’s exhibition. His numbers this season (a .270/.355/.479 slash line and 18 home runs) are certainly those of a star in their prime.
It’s just that he’s been doing this, on this kind of stage, for a minute. By the time Seager was a 23-year-old, he’d been named to multiple All-Star teams, named the NL Rookie of the Year and had received NL MVP votes in his first two full seasons. The next generation (or, technically, the current generation) took notice.
“I just always liked watching him,” Baltimore Orioles All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson said Monday.
That could be an understatement. Henderson, who trails only New York’s Aaron Judge in the updated AL MVP odds, listed Seager as his favorite athlete when he climbed through the Orioles’ minor leagues three years ago. Seager was, at that point, just months away from signing a 10-year, $325 million deal with the Rangers.
“We’re pretty similar play-style, got the same body-type, pretty tall shortstop as well,” said Henderson, who’s just one inch shorter than the 6-4 Seager.
“That was the biggest thing I kind of took away from him. He’s doing it at the big league level, and I was in high school and going through the minor leagues at the time. Being able to see somebody kind of do that, and being able to do it myself is the [ultimate goal].”
Henderson, a first-time All-Star, has slashed .286/.373/.584 with 28 home runs for the first-place Baltimore Orioles. He’ll compete against Rangers right fielder Adolis García in the first round of Monday’s Home Run Derby. He was 14 when Seager made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 2015. He looked up to the Rangers’ reserved infielder.
“It’s strange hearing that, isn’t it though?” said Seager, who conceded that Henderson “probably does a lot of things better than me.”
It’s just a different side of things to be on. He remembers his first All-Star game at San Diego’s Petco Park in 2016. Seager — whose emotion hardly wavers, aside from a handful of seismic postseason home runs — recalls being “star struck” when he first walked into the clubhouse.
He’s the striking star now.
“You never view yourself like that, right?” Seager continued. “You still feel like you’re trying to make it here and always trying to compete and gain an advantage where you can. It’s definitely been a weird transition being asked questions more than you’re asking. I find myself still asking questions to avoid it.”
He better bring a list of inquiries. The next generation of baseball’s stars are here and, in Seager, they see an icon.
Just don’t try to make him feel too old.
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