DENVER – Jesse Winker drew a seven-pitch walk in his first All-Star Game plate appearance, but that wasn’t his original intention.
“I did not fly here to walk, I’ll tell you that much,” Winker said, laughing. “I missed a couple of fastballs. Lance Lynn, he’s going to challenge you. Am I allowed to cuss? Because I (bleeping) missed a fastball down the middle.”
Winker and Nick Castellanos completed their first All-Star Game experience with the National League’s 5-2 loss at Colorado’s Coors Field on Tuesday. Winker had a groundout in his second at-bat, finishing 0-for-1 with a walk. Castellanos went 0-for-2 at the plate with an infield pop-out and a double play ground ball.
There was no signature moment during the game – Winker wished he could’ve had another chance at that 95-mph fastball down the middle – but both players were their typical selves. Winker was chatting with players in the dugout. Castellanos didn’t take swings in the on-deck circle before his at-bats, just sitting on the ledge next to the stands and taking it all in.
“We just had two guys start in the All-Star Game,” Winker said. “That’s pretty damn cool. It’s pretty special to be a part of. I keep thanking everybody, but I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know what else to say.”
Castellanos says his favorite memories from All-Star week were watching the Home Run Derby with his 7-year-old son, Liam, and his conversations with “the greatest in the game.”
Once he was selected to the All-Star team, he was excited thinking about all the moments he could share with his son. He wore a T-shirt that his son gifted him for his birthday in March during his red carpet walk. It had his son's drawing of dad on the front.
“It's just the memory that he's going to be able to have as a kid,” Castellanos said. “Just look at the father-son combination that was on display today. A big part of that is the children believing this is obtainable, this is real and it's not just a place you see on TV. To instill those things in them at a young age, it's really cool, because not a lot of kids can be able to do that.”
Liam appeared to enjoy it, dancing between Home Run Derby rounds in front of the stands.
“Yeah,” a smiling Castellanos said, “when he's not whiny or shy, he's a cool little kid.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who watched his own dad compete in the Home Run Derby, was named the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player, hitting a towering 468-foot homer in the third inning that flew over Winker’s head into the left-field seats.
At 22 years, 119 days old, Guerrero was the second-youngest player to homer in the Midsummer Classic, behind only Johnny Bench (21 years, 228 days) in the 1969 All-Star Game.
“Vladdy hit the absolute (stuffing) out of that ball,” said Winker, who hadn’t seen Guerrero play in person beforehand. “Holy cow.”
Winker said he didn’t have any nervousness before the game, which caught him off guard. Once the first pitch was thrown, “it was just baseball.”
“I was shocked because any time I was in an All-Star, Futures Game thing, part of something like that, I’ve always had nerves,” Winker said. “Today, I was like, ‘wow, I’m not nervous.’ It was a lot of fun.”
Castellanos wanted to make sure he took everything in. He didn’t want to be uptight because he considered it a privilege to be a part of the All-Star Game.
The last time he played alongside third baseman Manny Machado and pitcher Kevin Gausman was in Venezuela when they all won a gold medal together for Team USA in 2009. It was his first time being teammates with NL starter Max Scherzer since they were in Detroit.
“Watching All-Star Games on TV as little kids,” Castellanos said, “to be here and be a part of it? Dope.”
As Winker prepared to return to Cincinnati and recharge for a couple of days before the second half of the season, he was hopeful that he’ll have an opportunity to play in another All-Star Game someday.
“It’s something that I dreamed about as a kid,” Winker said. “It’s something that I watched every summer growing up. Everybody always tuned into the All-Star Game and then it was a dream that came true. I’m on cloud nine here.”
STAND UP TO CANCER: Winker and Castellanos honored Mike Bell, the late brother of Reds manager David Bell, during the Stand Up To Cancer tribute after the fifth inning.
Players, coaches and fans were given placards to hold up, writing names on the front of it to recognize who they "stand up for." Both players wrote Mike Bell's name, along with family members. Winker added his uncle John. Castellanos wrote his uncle Louie and grandpa Dave.
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