Jose Ramirez elected to fourth All-Star Game start; Steven Kwan loses out to two Tigers

The Guardians' top two players in the first half, third baseman Jose Ramirez and left fielder Steven Kwan, were in the running to start for the American League in the All-Star Game at Atlanta's Truist Park on July 15. Only one made the final cut. Ramirez was elected by fans Wednesday to make his fourth start, receiving close to 75 percent of the vote in the finals against Boston's Alex Bregman. It will be the seventh All-Star Game for Ramirez, who entered Wednesday night's game against the Cubs batting .305 with 13 home runs, 38 RBIs, 21 stolen bases and an .860 OPS over 80 games. He ranks among the top 10 in the AL in batting average and OPS. His seven overall All-Star selections are tied with Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby, Ken Keltner and Bob Lemon for the second-most in franchise history behind Bob Feller's eight. "Jose Ramirez continues to be a rock in the middle of that lineup, one of the most dynamic players in all of major league baseball," ESPN announcer and former big leaguer Chris Burke said prior to the telecast of the Guardians-Cubs game Wednesday night. "Power from both sides of the plate, a rare combination of power and plate discipline. Oh, by the way, one of the most dangerous base stealers in all of the game of baseball — 250 homers, 250-plus career stolen bases. "He does it with his legs, he does it with his power and he does it every year." There were only two available starting spots in the AL outfield after the Yankees' Aaron Judge was the top vote getter to secure one of them. Kwan, a starter last year in the Midsummer Classic at Arlington, Texas, lost out to a pair of players from the first-place Tigers in Riley Greene and Javier Baez. If selected when the reserves are announced on Sunday, it would be the second All-Star Game for Kwan, who was batting .296 with six homers and 25 RBIs through Tuesday, tied with Ramirez for the 10th-most hits (92) in the league. Kwan has won three straight Gold Glove awards. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.