Two MLB legends will participate in the 2022 All-Star Game thanks to a special appointment from commissioner Rob Manfred.
Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera were officially added to the rosters, in a statement released by MLB, to celebrate their illustrious careers.
“I am delighted that Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera have agreed to participate in the All-Star Game,” Manfred said in a statement. “Albert and Miguel are two of the most accomplished players of their generation. They have also represented the baseball traditions of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela with excellence for the last two decades. Albert and Miguel are two all-time greats whose achievements warrant this special recognition.”
Manfred is allowed to honor both players with All-Star selections because of a new clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement which gives the commissioner the ability to add one player to each of the rosters of the American League and the National League “in recognition of each players’ career achievements,” per the Athletic.
Pujols and Cabrera certainly fall under this category. Both are two of only three players in MLB history with 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and 600 doubles – the other being Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.
Pujols, 42, is a three-time NL MVP, six-time Silver Slugger, two-time Gold Glove winner and a two-time World Series winner. He also won NL Rookie of the Year in 2001. This would be his 11th All-Star selection. Pujols is in the final season of his 22-year MLB career and his 12th as a St. Louis Cardinal after re-signing this year.
Cabrera, 39, is a two-time AL MVP, seven-time Silver Slugger, four-time batting champion and won the AL Triple Crown in 2012. He also won the 2003 World Series as a rookie for the Florida Marlins. This is Cabrera’s 12th All-Star selection in his 20th MLB season and 15th with the Detroit Tigers. He said in 2021 that he’d retire in “two more years” in Detroit when his contract expires after the 2023 season.
In 2022, Pujols is batting just .189 with four homers and a .601 OPS, while Cabrera is batting .300 with three homers and a .703 OPS.
The starters for the All-Star rosters will be revealed Friday night at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN, while the full rosters will be unveiled Sunday at 5:30 pm ET. The All-Star game will be played Tuesday, July 19 at 8:00 pm ET in Los Angeles on Fox.