The Cleveland Indians sent two stars in Shane Bieber and Jose Ramirez to this year’s MLB All-Star Game in Denver.
Manager Terry Francona was also helping out the American League side as part of Kevin Cash‘s staff.
Fans did not get to see Bieber as he continued to recover from an injury, but Ramirez did make a brief appearance in the game.
Ultimately, it was a quiet night for the Cleveland stars.
The Lone At-Bat Of The Night
Ramirez finally stepped to the plate in the sixth inning when his AL side held a 4-1 lead.
He did drive the ball to center, but a flyout was all it ended up being.
With Bieber out, that was that for the Indians in attendance.
The main goal from any All-Star Game is really everyone getting through healthy.
The game no longer counts for anything other than pride, so the hope is a fun exhibition can take place without anyone getting hurt or literally anything bad happening.
That was the case Tuesday and while it would have been cool to see Ramirez get a big hit, his flyout does not end up mattering much.
For him, just getting selected to the event boosts his value in contract negotiations.
That walk is absolutely unmistakable. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/RGwh1XCpIK
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 13, 2021
Ramirez has now made three All-Star Games, while Bieber has been to two with many more to go.
As long as these two remain in town, they are virtual locks to make the game on an annual basis.
Other Storylines In Play
The biggest story of the night, and the week for that matter, was Shohei Ohtani.
The two-way star put on an early show in the Home Run Derby and followed it up by starting for the AL on Tuesday and also batting leadoff.
He is doing things baseball fans haven’t seen in generations and tuning in just to see him is worth it.
Ohtani did not end up doing much Tuesday, but just the concept of him pitching and batting was exciting.
Every time the Indians play the Los Angeles Angels is appointment television, and that is before even mentioning the fact Ohtani plays alongside Mike Trout.
Ohtani continues to do things the game has never seen.
(📸 @MLB) pic.twitter.com/y77IIAeQ3B
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 14, 2021
The other big story from the night was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. taking home MVP honors.
He had a moonshot early in the game and continues to prove he is one of the best young stars in the game.
The game itself also showed the AL is stacked with talent and Indians fans may want to start circling more dates on the calendar to take in the new young stars of the game.
That is before even mentioning the potential matchups with National League teams.
The All-Star break serves as a midway point in every MLB season.
Ramirez left healthy, and Bieber should be poised for a return in the coming weeks.
Now the focus can shift back toward competing for a playoff spot.
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