MLB fans pleased with Gerrit Cole being named AL starter at All-Star Game: "Only reason to watch the game tbh"

Gerrit Cole, ace of the New York Yankees, has been named the American League starter for the All-Star Game. Dusty Baker, manager of the Houston Astros, selected him to start over Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Sonny Gray and Nathan Eovaldi. Shohei Ohtani declined to pitch and Framber Valdez and Kevin Gausman withdrew from the game.Cole has been excellent this year. He's routinely one of baseball's best pitchers and while he hasn't been a Cy Young runaway this season, he has been a consistent force for the Yankees who have struggled when he's not involved in the game.Jon Heyman@JonHeymanYankees ace Gerrit Cole will get the All-Star Game start1776338Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will get the All-Star Game startHe enters the break with a 9-2 record and a 2.85 ERA. He also has a 2.5 fWAR, which is on pace to surpass his total of 3.3 from a year ago. Those metrics may not currently lead the league, but there are only a handful of better pitchers in the American League.MLB fans, overall, are pretty satisfied with the decision to hand the ball to Cole to start the game.Dylan@Dyl168@JonHeyman Only reason to watch the game tbh1@JonHeyman Only reason to watch the game tbhSparkz@ll_Sparkz_ll@JonHeyman Let’s go. Only good news for the Yankees lmao3@JonHeyman Let’s go. Only good news for the Yankees lmaoBronx Hawk@Yankee_Hawk@JonHeyman well deserved28@JonHeyman well deservedDerk@captainderk@JonHeyman Goat3@JonHeyman GoatNick@nick309912@JonHeyman Only thing the Yankees have going for them@JonHeyman Only thing the Yankees have going for themAxl@Axeldinho03@JonHeyman LET'S FUCKING GO THAT'S MY ACE1@JonHeyman LET'S FUCKING GO THAT'S MY ACEAddison@YankeeWRLD@JonHeyman BANG34@JonHeyman BANGEst. In Kings County ❤🖤💚@JohnNYC_718@JonHeyman The UCLA Legend doing so in PAC12 country.@JonHeyman The UCLA Legend doing so in PAC12 country.aldo grubbs@aldogrubbs@JonHeyman HIM@JonHeyman HIMJoey@DJLeMVPAND I WAS TOLD HE WOULDN’T EVEN PITCH IN THE GAME!!!Well deserved, Ace. twitter.com/jonheyman/stat…Jon Heyman@JonHeymanYankees ace Gerrit Cole will get the All-Star Game start504Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will get the All-Star Game startAND I WAS TOLD HE WOULDN’T EVEN PITCH IN THE GAME!!!Well deserved, Ace. twitter.com/jonheyman/stat… https://t.co/PZEmbRMuVPRiver Ave. Blues@RiverAveBluesNice. Cole said last week he hopes to one day start the ASG. He leads all pitchers in WAR this season by a good margin. twitter.com/JonHeyman/stat…Jon Heyman@JonHeymanYankees ace Gerrit Cole will get the All-Star Game start887Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will get the All-Star Game startNice. Cole said last week he hopes to one day start the ASG. He leads all pitchers in WAR this season by a good margin. twitter.com/JonHeyman/stat…Cole recently said it was a dream to start the All-Star Game. Now, Dusty Baker, who manages the team Cole used to pitch for, has made that dream a reality.Gerrit Cole is having an excellent seasonGerrit Cole had an abnormally down year last year, posting a 3.50 ERA and a 3.3 fWAR, his lowest in a full year since 2017 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. This year, he's rebounded and put the Yankees on his back.Gerrit Cole will start the All-Star GameThe Yankees have struggled offensively without Aaron Judge, but when Cole is pitching, the offense knows it only needs to get a few runs to have a fighting chance. Routinely, Cole has shut down opposing lineups.He has dramatically cut down on the home runs that plagued him. Last year, his home run per fly ball rate was 16.8%. This year, it's down to 9.0%, the lowest it has been since 2016.

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