After Randy Arozarena scuffled at the plate throughout much of the first half, he was not surprised to be left off the American League All-Star roster.
But he also knew that people had seen what he’d done lately, and so, he waited.
Arozarena didn’t make plans for the All-Star break like many of his teammates did. He was content, he said, to go home and relax for four days to get ready for the second half.
“I had hope that I was going to be called, even if it was last minute,” Arozarena said Friday through bench coach Manny Acta.
His intuition paid off when MLB announced he would replace his teammate, Julio Rodríguez, on the All-Star roster. Arozarena will join fellow Mariners Andrés Muñoz, Bryan Woo and AL starting catcher Cal Raleigh at the game, held Tuesday in Atlanta.
“It’s been really cool to see just the whole clubhouse really erupting in those announcements and everybody feeling really happy for each other,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said before the Mariners opened a weekend set against the Tigers at Comerica Park. “And Randy with a big smile today. I thought [it was] just great news for him, and for the team, too.”
