James McCann selected to 2019 MLB All-Star Game
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For just the 11th time ever, Arkansas will have a representative in baseball’s Midsummer Classic.
Chicago White Sox catcher James McCann, who played for the Razorbacks from 2009-11, was selected as a reserve for this year’s MLB All-Star Game by the Commissioner’s Office, it was announced Sunday.
He is the sixth former Arkansas player to become an All-Star in the big leagues, joining Randy Jackson (1954-55), Johnny Ray (1988), Tom Pagnozzi (1992), Cliff Lee (2008, 2010-11, 2013), and Dallas Keuchel (2015, 2017).
The selection is not a surprise because, in his fifth full season in the majors, McCann is in the midst of by far his best year. Entering Sunday, he was slashing .320/.378/.519 with 14 doubles, nine home runs and 27 RBIs. His batting average is 24 points higher than any other MLB catcher with at least 50 at bats.
At the halfway point, he is just four doubles and four home runs shy of career highs. McCann is also on track to surpass his previous highs in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage by 56, 60 and 104 points, respectively.
Defensively, McCann has thrown out 41.2 percent (14 of 34) of potential base stealers, which ranks second in the MLB among catchers who have at least 25 stolen base attempts against them. He has also yet to allow a passed ball in 426 1/3 innings caught, which is second only to Cleveland’s Roberto Perez (0 in 472 innings) and 227 1/3 more innings than any other catcher with no passed balls.
Before this year, McCann had spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers, the team that picked him second round of the 2011 MLB Draft. In four full seasons and part of another, he slashed .240/.288/.366 and homered once every 38.4 at bats. With the White Sox, that has spiked to once every 22.9 at bats.
With the Razorbacks, McCann’s batting average increased each year, from .242 as a freshman in 2009 to .286 as a sophomore and finally to .306 as a junior in 2011. He also hit 16 home runs with 83 RBIs in 169 career games at Arkansas.
The 2019 MLB All-Star Game is at Progressive Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians, on July 9. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on FOX.
