During the month of May, Kipnis smacked 51 hits in 119 at-bats, 22 of which went for extra bases.
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After the big reveal was made on Sunday night, Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis voiced his disappointment in a popular place athletes do it these days… on Twitter.
“It really is fun”, Kipnis said of playing in the All-Star Game. The honor comes on the heels of a disappointing and injury-filled 2014 season for Kipnis.
Kipnis has a 4.9 WAR, which ties him with Mike Trout for the highest among all American League players.
For Kipnis, who was voted in by the players, the nod marks his second career All-Star nomination.
I remember telling everyone last winter he would come back with a vengeance, and thats what it looks like, Francona said. “Whether it’s at the plate, at second, on the bases, he’s played the game with such a vengeance – that’s the word I think I can come up with”. Weve had our ups and downs as a team, but hes been a force all year.. The reigning AL batting champ is now hitting.301/.344/.418 with seven homers, 35 RBI and a league-leading 24 stolen bases. The second baseman battled an early oblique injury which hampered him throughout the season.
As it turns out, Francona nailed that preseason prediction.
I knew how raging he was that he couldnt do it because of injuries past year, Francona said. “He hasn’t taken his foot off the gas, ever”. Regardless of how or where he hits the ball, he runs to first like his trousers are on fire..
Kipnis is halfway toward proving his manager right.
Thankfully, there was a super strong push in the final week of voting by Houston Astros fans to secure the starting spot for Jose Altuve, who registered over nine million votes.
Leading up to the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star selection show, the big story was how many Kansas City Royals would get voted in as starters.
“I think there’s definitely a lot of guys you can argue for”, he said. However, he is not expected to start, but rather play as a reserve. That can be said probably for a bunch of our pitchers.
I hope they do, he said. I think that means a lot and goes a long way.
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Kipnis, in 2013 and again this year, is the third Indians second baseman in this century to be selected to the All-Star team. Fans are always going to vote for their favorite players, whether they are having a good year or not..
