Chicago Cubs’ Willson Contreras and Javier Baez All-Star starters

For the seconded year in a row, Chicago Cubs superstars Willson Contreras and Javier Baez and will start for the NL All-Star team.

The best way for the two Chicago Cubs All-Stars of 2018 to follow-up in 2019?  To make another trip to the 2019 midsummer classic in Cleveland, Ohio. That’s exactly what Willson Contreras and Javier Baez did as it was announced on Thursday evening that both would be starters in the All-Star game on July 9th.

The two Cubs all stars are the first Cubs to start in back-to-back All-Star games since Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson in 1990-91. It is also the 19th time that the Cubs have had multiple starters in the All-Star Game.

The MLB had a new way of voting in All-Stars this year. It was the standard fan vote like it has been for a while, but they added a new twist to the process this year. The first round of voting got the top three vote-getters for each position into another voting process to see who the starters would be.

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There were seven Cubs to make it into the last round of voting. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Albert Almora, Kyle Schwarber, and Jason Heyward were all the other Cubs that got into the final voting process but failed to get the nod to start in the game.

Contreras and Baez were both more than deserving of starting in the game for the second straight year. Baez is now batting .287 with 19 homers and 52 RBIs, and we all know the kind of defense that Baez plays day in and day out.

Last year Baez started at second base for the NL team, this year he will be the starting shortstop. Baez is the first player ever to start consecutive games at both middle infield spots.

That personifies the type of player that he can be, to switch positions and still be the best at both spots. As Cubs fans, we are truly spoiled that we get to watch Baez play every single day.

Contreras, on the other hand, is just as deserving of the starting nod at catcher for the NL team.  Contreras is currently batting .300 with 17 long balls and 48 RBIs; we also know how big of an impact Contreras can have behind the plate as well.

Throwing runners out that are trying to steal and back picking runners, he honestly can do it all back there. Contreras is the first Chicago Cubs catcher to start consecutive All-Star games since Gabby Hartnett in 1936-1937.  Hopefully, Contreras can pick up where he left off in last years game he hit the first pitch that he saw for a home run.