The first time left him speechless, a silence forced by nameplates and numbers. Alfonso Soriano saw the other All-Stars and admitted he felt a little different.
The normally upbeat, chatty Soriano turned quiet.
“When you go inside and watch all those numbers you say, ‘Oh, my gosh, there’s a lot of All-Star players here,’” Soriano said. “That was the impression for me the first time.”
Four years and four All-Star games later, he’s no longer the quiet one and no longer feels different. Well, not quite. He admits there will be something different about tonight’s All-Star Game in Pittsburgh. After all, it’s Soriano’s first playing for the National League — not to mention his first as a National and first in the outfield.
“I don’t know all the superstars in the National League so it will seem like the first one,” he said. “This one is a new position and a new league so I’m very proud of this one.”
But all that newness didn’t matter to the fans and players, who voted him in as a starter. His numbers trumped any newness: Soriano has 27 homers, two behind NL leader Albert Pujols, and 56 RBI.
“That bat speaks volumes,” Nationals shortstop Royce Clayton said. “He’s done a good job for us in left field, despite not having a lot of chances to adapt to it. It’s not easy to do at the big league level and he’s done well with it. He deserved the fans’ vote and the players’ vote and everything else he’s gotten.”
Soriano has had success in the All-Star Game and was named MVP in the American League’s win in 2004 after homering and driving in three.
“That’s a very good memory,” he said.
Soriano is a free agent after the season, making it a strong possibility he’ll be traded later this month. This despite a recent stated desire to return. He also has said if other veterans are traded, it would affect his desire to re-sign with Washington.
“I love the game,” he said, “and I love this group here.”
But tonight is about his first half with the Nationals. And it’s about enjoying the atmosphere.
“It’s a very, very big moment,” he said. “It’s like a present for the first half. Whatever you do in the first half, that present is to go to the All-Star Game. I enjoy it as much as I can because you never know when you’ll go back.”
Midsummer memories
In his first four All-Star games, Soriano has three hits in nine at-bats — two of them were homers. He also has driven in four runs.
Soriano homered in his first All-Star game in 2002 in Milwaukee.
Soriano enters the All-Star break on an upswing; he has 11 hits in his last 30 at-bats, with three homers, five RBI and seven runs scored.
