Four Rangers Selected As 2011 All-Stars

Arlington, Texas – The Texas Rangers today had four players selected to play for the American League in the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which will take place on Tuesday, July 12 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

The complete American and National League teams were announced today by Major League Baseball.

Outfielder Josh Hamilton was elected as an A.L. starter in fan balloting. Third baseman Adrian Beltre and designated hitter Michael Young were selected by vote of the league’s players, managers, and coaches. Left-handed pitcher C.J. Wilson was named as one of seven manager’s selections by A.L. skipper Ron Washington.

Hamilton earned a starting position for the fourth consecutive year by placing third among A.L. outfielders with 4,646,394 votes behind Toronto’s Jose Bautista (7,454,753) and New York’s Curtis Granderson (6,683,877). The four All-Star starts are the second most ever for a Ranger to Ivan Rodriguez’ nine at catcher, all consecutive from 1992-2001. Alex Rodriguez (3 from 2001-03) is the only other Ranger to start more than once in the Midsummer Classic. Hamilton is 3-for-9 with an RBI in starts in center field in 2008 at Yankee Stadium, 2009 at Busch Stadium, and 2010 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. He is batting .301 with 10 homers and 40 RBI in 46 games this season.

Beltre received the most votes of any third baseman in the A.L. player voting, outdistancing fan elected

starter Alex Rodriguez, 530-281. This is Beltre’s second All-Star selection as he was 0-for-1 as a reserve with Boston in the 2010 Midsummer Classic in Anaheim. He is batting .265 with 14 homers and 61 RBI over 84 games in his first season as a Ranger.

Young, who finished second in the A.L. player voting at DH to the fan elected starter, David Ortiz of Boston, 466-277, will be going to the All-Star Game for the seventh time, the second most selections in Rangers history behind ten for Ivan Rodriguez. He was named in six consecutive years prior to 2010, being selected as a reserve at shortstop from 2004-08 and starting at third base in place of the injured Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay in 2009. Young was one of the five players in the 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote for the A.L., an election won by New York’s Nick Swisher. Young is 4-for-12 with a double, triple, and 3 RBI in 5 previous All-Star appearances (DNP in 2007). He was the game’s MVP in 2006 with his game-winning two-run triple in the top of the ninth inning. He is hitting .313 with 7 homers and 54 RBI in 82 games this season.

Wilson is a first time All-Star and is just the Rangers third left-handed pitcher to ever be selected for the Midsummer Classic, joining Rick Honeycutt (1983) and new Rangers Hall of Famer Kenny Rogers (1995, 2004, 2005). Cliff Lee also represented Texas in 2010 but was named to the team as a Seattle Mariner prior to his trade to the Rangers. Wilson is 8-3 with a 3.14 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 17 starts for the Texas this season. He is the Texas starter for tonight’s series finale against Florida.

Washington will be the first Rangers manager ever to guide an All-Star Team. He will be joined in Arizona by the six members of his coaching staff: Dave Anderson, Scott Coolbaugh, Andy Hawkins, Mike Maddux, Jackie Moore, and Gary Pettis. In addition, Rangers bullpen catcher Josh Frasier will perform those duties for the A.L. squad.

ALL-STAR NOTES: This is the fourth consecutive year the Rangers have had at least one fan elected starter in the All-Star Game…it is the 8th time that the Rangers have had at least four All-Star selections, the 3rd in the last 4 years…Texas had a club record 6 All-Stars (including Lee) in 2010, 5 in 2004, and 4 each in 1989, 1998, 1999, 2005, and 2008….club has had at least 2 All-Stars in 8 of the last 9 years beginning in 2003…Beltre is the 5th Rangers All-Star 3rd baseman, joining Dave Nelson (1973), Buddy Bell (1980-81-82-84), Hank Blalock (2003-04), and Young (2009)…Alex Rodriguez also started the 2001 game at 3rd after moving from short to accommodate Cal Ripken in Ripken’s final ASG…Young is third Ranger selected as an All-Star designated hitter, joining Milton Bradley in 2008 and Vladimir Guerrero in 2010…Rafael Palmeiro stared at DH in 1999 for the injured Jose Canseco…Young becomes the first Ranger to earn All-Star selections at 3 different positions (SS, 3B, DH).

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