​Iván Herrera, the longest-tenured Cardinal since signing with the organization on July 7, 2016, earned an MLB All-Star selection a little over a decade later on Friday. The 26-year-old catcher/designated hitter, who leads MLB in hit-by-pitches this season with 24, was named to the National League All-Star roster after Shohei Ohtani withdrew from the game with a right knee injury. Herrera will join a National League squad that also includes Cardinals teammate Jordan Walker, reliever Riley O’Brien, and manager Oliver Marmol on Dave Roberts’ coaching staff. Walker, who has 21 homers and an MLB-best 73 RBIs, was selected as a reserve, while O’Brien was chosen as an injury replacement.
Marmol, in his fifth season as Cardinals manager, will serve as a coach on the Dodgers’ staff for the game. “Well-deserved,” Marmol said when asked about Herrera. “He’s worked hard at it. We can talk about what we see nightly on the field, but when you consider the offseason and the amount of work he put in, from preparing and calling pitches to understanding his pitchers, to understanding himself and what he needed to improve—there was a lot that happened behind the scenes. It was cool to watch him receive that All-Star nomination in front of everybody. He was surprised.”
Herrera, who grew up in Panama and idolized Yadier Molina, recalls watching Molina in the All-Star festivities and has repeatedly said that reaching the MLB All-Star Game would fulfill a lifelong dream. He told Roundtable Sports earlier this season that such an achievement would represent a dream realized, though he’s quick to acknowledge that he isn’t yet satisfied with his current place in the sport. “I don’t know if I’m anywhere close to being in All-Star consideration because I’m not where I want to be right now,” Herrera said while continuing to work on lifting more balls and lowering his ground-ball rate after a slower start to the season. “I would definitely love to go to the All-Star Game, and for me that would be a total dream. I had intentions to go last year, but injuries interrupted my chances. This year, I had the same dreams, but things haven’t gone as I expected. Baseball is hard, and I’m going to keep pushing and improving. I’m always going to wish I could go to the MLB All-Star Game, and I’m going to give 100 percent to make a push for that goal.”
Herrera is the only Cardinals player to appear in all 92 games this season and is slated to start Friday night’s game against the Braves at Busch Stadium. Keeping Herrera in the lineup every day has been a season-long emphasis for the Cardinals, and he is on pace to surpass his career high in games played (107) later this month. Despite a recent slump at the plate, Herrera is posting a .249/.384/.395/.780 line with 14 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs, 40 RBIs, and five stolen bases in as many attempts. He ranks 14th in MLB in on-base percentage, largely thanks to his strong plate discipline and eye at the plate.