Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott MLB All-Star outing video
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott pitched a scoreless sixth inning in the MLB All-Star Game, which ended with a first-ever “swing-off” tiebreaker.
ATLANTA – As a steady parade of All-Star pitchers finished their prescribed work and headed out to media interviews and the exits, Cincinnati Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott stayed for every minute left of the MLB All-Star game in Atlanta.
Mostly on the dugout rail, always it seemed in a conversation. Soaking up all there was to soak up during an All-Star experience that seemed to live up to all those childhood dreams and justify all the nervous energy.
“You grow up watching it on TV, and you’re like, ‘I want to do that one day,’ “ he said. “And then you’re in it.”
And he wasn’t about to give up a moment of the experience.
“It’s your first one. You never know when you’re gonna be back, so I wanted to take it all in,” he said. “It’s the one game we can be on our phones in the dugout, and there’s no one yelling at you for it. I wanted to take advantage of that and take pictures and text the folks, and help them get to the right spots.”
One unforeseen benefit to sticking around: He was able to witness the first extra-inning “swing-off” in All-Star history, with a 6-6 tie at the end of nine innings decided by a 3-on-3 home run derby-style event – each of the six participants getting three swings, and the side with the most homers at the end of it declared the winner.
“Shwarbs sent us home happy,” said Abbott, who was among about 20 National Leaguers left to celebrate in front of the dugout. “It was great.”
That’s Middletown’s Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies slugger, whose three swings all led to home runs, giving the National League a 4-3 edge in the “swing-off” and what will go in the books as a 7-6 NL victory with no winning pitcher.
“That was really fun,” said shortstop Elly De La Cruz, the Reds’ other All-Star. “That’s a really good way to end this game. … Wow, Schwarber — 3-for-3. It’s amazing.”Abbott and De La Cruz took the field together in the top of the sixth inning of the game and were among the nearly two dozen NL players left to celebrate Schwarber’s heroics.
“You saw how many guys we still had here that hadn’t left,” he said. ”These guys who play on all different teams supporting each other. I mean, it’s what baseball is. It’s great to be a part of that.”
With 36 friends and family in the stadium after making the six-hour trek from Abbott’s old stomping grounds in Virginia, the Reds lefty threw his first All-Star pitch for a strike. And 12 pitches later, he had a 1-2-3 inning – setting down Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Yankees, Riley Greene of the Tigers and Randy Arozarena of the Mariners on two fly balls to center and an easy bouncer back to the mound he took care of himself.
It preserved a 2-0 lead at the time.
If it seemed like Abbott enjoyed the experience on the mound, or in the dugout afterward, you should have seen him during events Monday and early Tuesday, including the red-carpet arrival of the All-Stars a few hours before the game.
“It was great. It was a new thing,” said Abbott, who had his parents join him on the carpet walk. “They had a blast. Dad was smiling and waving at everybody.”
He spotted a few Reds fans in the crowd as he took pictures along the way.
“It’s definitely something I would love to do again,” he said.
After the game, he brought his large contingent on the field for photos, including his Aunt Angie, who might be one of the biggest baseball fans in the family.
“She was in heaven,” Abbott said. “She’s been very supportive my entire life. And she was also able to see a few of her favorite people, who are in the clubhouse. Pete (Alonso), Frankie Lindor.
“Me and Pete were talking during the photos. He met her yesterday,” Abbott said. “I said, ‘I hope she didn’t bother you too much.’ He said, ‘No, she’s great.’
“Everybody left happy and had a blast.”
De La Cruz, in his second All-Star appearance, batted twice, striking out to end the sixth and flying out to left in the eighth.
He also played a co-starring role in a pregame promotion involving All-Stars and movie lines, saying: “I got a need, a need for speed. I’m fast.”
“I had so much fun, and I had fun with those guys, those superstars,” he said.
The game also carried a more serious message between the fourth and fifth innings for many players, including De La Cruz, who had his mom on the trip with him.
During the “Stand Up To Cancer” moment, when fans, players and media held up signs in which they’d written the names of loved ones they were representing, De La Cruz held two signs.
One read, “La Familia.” The other, “Los enfermos.” The family. The sick.
De La Cruz lost his sister May 31 after an illness. He has worn tributes to her on his gear since then and on the inside of the jacket of the custom suit he wore during the red carpet event.
Next to a picture of him with his brother and sister, it said, “Te Quire Manila,” which translates roughly to, “I love my little sister.”
It made the All-Star experience a family event, he said.