Brock Holt started the year as a utility man on the Boston Red Sox bench, but he slowly earned himself a spot playing nearly every day. Now he's a member of the American League All-Star team.
"Last year he didn't make the team out of spring training because they didn't think he could play shortstop well enough," said Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. "When they needed a third baseman they signed Ryan Roberts off the scrap heap instead of giving it to Holt. Now look, he's the first guy ever to make the All-Star team having played seven different positions before the All-Star break, and he's started games at all of those. So it is really a cool story for him."
With Holt representing the Red Sox, does that mean Xander Bogaerts was snubbed?
"A snub to me means, 'we don't like you, we're not going to make you an All-Star,'" said Steve Buckley. "But what we learned from Terry Francona is the manager's hands are tied in many respects in terms of players he gets to pick because of all these rules and checks and balances that are put in place … [Bogaerts] falls by the wayside more so than being snubbed."