Cleveland Guardian outfielder Steven Kwan has been named to the American League starting lineup for the upcoming Major League Baseball All Star game.
Kwan, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area who grew up in Fremont, is batting .362 and sits atop all of baseball with the number one batting average. He has 13 doubles, two triples and seven home runs to go along with his 62 singles. He will play left field in the game on July 16 in Arlington, TX.
He will join a starting outfield alongside legendary players Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
Shohei Ohtani made history in 2021 when the American League named him both the starting pitcher and starting designated hitter. Ohtani is Japan-born from Mizusawa, Iwate, Japan, and not an American citizen.
Kwan will be one of the few Asian Americans to play in an All Star game. Others include Christian Yelich whose maternal grandfather is Japanese. Yelich will start for the National League this year representing the Milwaukee Brewers. He also started the All Star game in 2019. Corbin Carroll started the game last year as a rookie with the Arizona Diamondbacks. His mother is Taiwanese.
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Ohtani also received a starting nod for the 2024 game, but this time for the National League representing the Los Angeles Dodgers as the designated hitter. He was also named to the team in ’22 and ’23. A national television audience will see three Asian players starting the game this year.
Other American League starters will be José Ramírez of the Guardians at third, Gunnar Henderson of Baltimore at shortstop, Yordan Alvarez of Houston at designated hitter, Vladimir Guerrero Jr of Toronto at first base, Adley Rutschman of Baltimore at catcher and Jose Altuve of Houston at second base.
The National League starting lineup will be comprised Fernando Tatis Jr. of San Diego and Jurickson Profar of San Diego and Yelich in the outfield, Bryce Harper (injured) of Philadelphia at first base, Ketel Marte of Arizona at second base, Trea Turner of Philadelphia at shortstop, Alec Bohm of Philadelphia at third, Wilson Contreras of Milwaukee at catcher and Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.
Kwan missed a month of the season due to a hamstring strain. Up until recently, according to MLB.com, he did not have enough official at bats to qualify him to be placed among the league leaders.
This will be Kwan’s first All Star appearance after less than three seasons. His mother Jane is Japanese American and father Raymond is Chinese American.
(Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Kwan is the first Asian American to start a Major League Baseball All Star game.)
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