Login
Subscribe
Baseball

Why did Zack Wheeler decline All-Star Game invite? Phillies RHP felt ‘disrespected’

By No Comments14 Mins Read

When the National League roster is announced at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 14 for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game, the Philadelphia Phillies will have six players introduced — and will likely receive the loudest positive welcome of all the players.

There will be one All-Star-caliber player from the hometown team missing, though.

Advertisement

That would be right-hander Zack Wheeler.

MLB All-Star game starting lineups: Sanchez and Cease pitch, batting order

Wheeler, who has recovered from thoracic outlet surgery in September, has once again pitched like one of baseball’s top starting pitchers this season, despite missing all of spring training and most of the first month of the regular season. He went 10-1 in 15 starts in the first half, posting a 2.13 ERA in 93 innings pitched while recording 108 strikeouts.

Despite that success, he was one of the players snubbed from the original version of Dave Roberts’ National League roster. He then declined the invitation from Major League Baseball on the fourth-to-last day of the first half to be a replacement player.

Advertisement

Here’s a recap of it all:

1 / 52

Cardinals’ Jordan Walker steals the show at 2026 MLB Home Run Derby

Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals competes in the finals of the 2026 Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park on July 13, 2026 in Philadelphia.

(Emilee Chinn, Getty Images)

Why is Zack Wheeler not in the MLB All-Star Game tonight?

It’s a three-parter.

The first part is that Wheeler was not voted in by his fellow peers in the league. To some misconception, only positional players are voted into the All-Star Game by the fans, as pitchers are not included on the now-virtual ballots.

“The All-Star Game for pitchers is probably the most difficult because we really only get selected by our peers,” former Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels told USA TODAY Sports this week. “… When you actually are having a good season, you want to get recognized for it because being an All-Star carries forward so far into not only your career, but your retirement, because those are the numbers that people recognize.”

Advertisement

REQUIRED READING: How Cristopher Sánchez has transformed into an All-Star Game starter and MLB ace

The second, and Wheeler said he’d be available despite it, is that MLB rules state a pitcher who starts the final game of the first half of the season is ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game just two days later.

Wheeler started against the Detroit Tigers on July 12, striking out 10 across six scoreless innings.

“I think it’s kind of a B.S. rule that just because I pitch on a certain day, I get punished for it,” Wheeler said about the MLB rule following his July 7 start against the Cincinnati Reds, where he tied a career-high 14 strikeouts.

The third, and this is the big one, is that once Major League Baseball reached out to him July 9 to be a replacement player, Wheeler felt disrespected that he wasn’t asked to take someone else’s spot earlier and instead was like a “fifth option.” Therefore, he declined the 11th-hour invitation.

Advertisement

“Because they disrespected me,” Wheeler said July 11 when he explained his decision. “So I’m just not gonna participate in that thing.”

He added: “I’m not gonna be, like, the fifth option. Maybe I didn’t earn it at the, from the get-go, but maybe just second choice. Once I feel like they kind of messed that up, I’m out.”

Wheeler being left off the National League roster, despite pitching like an All-Star, created quite the uproar among those within baseball, including former and current players.

“His numbers are better than mine, and I’m sitting here. I’ll leave it at that,” Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale told Foul Territory on July 13.

Meanwhile, San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb told reporters during the media day portion of July 11 All-Star Game events at Citizens Bank Park that he would have given Wheeler his spot.

Advertisement

“I would have given my spot to him for him to be here,” Webb said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. Has been for a long time. It always sucks when guys who are deserving don’t make it. There was a couple of years when I didn’t make it and I thought I should have made it, but I don’t think I ever had stats that look like that.”

Zack Wheeler stats

Wheeler holds a 10-1 record in 15 starts on the season to go along with a 2.13 ERA in 93 innings pitched and 108 recorded strikeouts. In his last five starts, Wheeler went 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA and struck out 60 hitters across 42 1/3 innings.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Advertisement

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why did Zack Wheeler decline All-Star Game invite? Phillies RHP felt ‘disrespected’

Read the full article here

Keep Reading

Leave A Reply

2026 © Prices.com LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Exit mobile version