BATON ROUGE, La. – Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who helped lead LSU to the 2009 College World Series title, has been selected as a reserve for the National League in the 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 11 in Miami.
The All-Star assignment is the second for LeMahieu, who was the NL starting second baseman at the 2015 midsummer classic in Cincinnati. He is hitting .303 this season for the Rockies with three homers, 38 RBI, 43 runs and a .361 on-base percentage.
LeMahieu, the 2016 National League batting champion with a .348 average, became last season the eighth Rockies player to win the NL batting title, and he had the highest average for an NL batting champion since Chipper Jones hit .364 for the Atlanta Braves in 2008.
Also a 2014 Gold Glove recipient, LeMahieu is one of 10 former LSU players to earn an All-Star Game invitation. LSU has had five former players selected for the game since 2008.
LeMahieu, a native of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., played at LSU in 2008 and 2009 and signed with the Chicago Cubs after he was selected in the second round of the ’09 MLB Draft.
He hit .344 during his college career with 24 doubles, five triples, 11 homers and 87 RBI. He was named to the 2009 College World Series All-Tournament team, batting .444 during the Tigers’ drive to the national championship.
LeMahieu’s selection marks the third straight year a former LSU player has been chosen for the All-Star Game. Houston Astros reliever Will Harris, who played at LSU from 2003-06, was a member of the 2016 American League squad.
Former LSU pitcher Brian Wilson represented the San Francisco Giants in 2011 and earned the save in the National League’s 5-1 win in Phoenix. Wilson also represented the Giants in the 2008 game at Yankee Stadium and in the 2010 game in Anaheim, Calif.
Former LSU infielder Aaron Hill of the Toronto Blue Jays (AL) and former LSU outfielder Brad Hawpe of the Colorado Rockies (NL) played in the 2009 game in St. Louis.
LSU’s first All-Star was Boston Braves second baseman Connie Ryan of New Orleans, who played for the National League in 1944. New York Giants shortstop Alvin Dark of Comanche, Okla. was an NL All-Star in 1951, 1952 and 1954.
First baseman Joe Bill Adcock of Coushatta, La. represented the Milwaukee Braves on the 1960 National League roster.
Outfielder Albert Belle of Shreveport, La. was a five-time American League All-Star, representing the Cleveland Indians (1993-96) and Chicago White Sox (1997).
Right-hander Paul Byrd, a product of Louisville, Ky., pitched for the National League in 1999 as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.
LSU’s Major League All-Stars
Connie Ryan, 2B, Boston Braves (NL) – 1944
Alvin Dark, SS, New York Giants (NL) – 1951-52, 1954
Joe Bill Adcock, 1B, Milwaukee Braves (NL) – 1960
Albert Belle, OF, Cleveland Indians (AL) – 1993-96; Chicago White Sox (AL) – 1997
Paul Byrd, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies (NL) – 1999
Brian Wilson, RHP, San Francisco Giants (NL) – 2008, 2010, 2011
Brad Hawpe, OF, Colorado Rockies (NL) – 2009
Aaron Hill, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays (AL) – 2009
DJ LeMahieu, 2B, Colorado Rockies (NL)- 2015, 2017
Will Harris, RHP, Houston Astros (AL) – 2016