Chicago White Sox slugger Luis Robert, Jr. has been named to the American League All-Star Game roster, marking the first time in his career he's been selected for the Midsummer Classic.
“I’m very happy with the news,” Robert Jr. said. “I was expecting it, but I wasn’t sure because I knew that I was having a very good first half, but you don’t actually know until you get the news. Then when I got the news, I was very happy. I was emotional.”
Robert Jr., playing in his fourth season, has a career-high 24 home runs and 46 RBI's in 344 plate appearances for the White Sox.
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He is slashing .276/.333/.574 this season, and is nearing his career high in games played in a season.
“I think the results are coming because I’ve been swinging at pitches that are in the strike zone,” he said. “I haven’t changed much. I think that’s the key. If you are swinging at pitches in the strike zone, then you’re gonna have good results.”
Staying healthy has been a major improvement for Robert Jr. this season, too. He’s played in 83 out of a possible 86 games, compared to a total of 68 games in 2021 and 98 games in 2022.
“I think the key has been being able to play every day,” he said. “If you play everyday, you have a chance to get better, you have a chance to identify things that you can improve. If you’re not playing every day then it’s difficult to identify those areas where you need to improve. And for me, that has been the key – being able to play every day."
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Robert Jr. has also been a stellar defender as well, racking up a 1.1 defensive Wins Above Replacement this season, according to Baseball Reference.
Robert won the 2020 American League Gold Glove in center field, and seems to be well on pace to do so again this year.
The 2023 MLB All-Star Game will be played Tuesday, July 11 in Seattle.