Phillies ace Zack Wheeler turns down All-Star invite from MLB for 'disrespected' reason

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler turns down All-Star invite from MLB for ‘disrespected’ reason originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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For the second consecutive season, the Philadelphia Phillies had one of the league’s biggest All-Star snubs. Last year, it was Cristopher Sanchez, who finished second place in the NL Cy Young race.

This season, Zack Wheeler is the major All-Star snub. He’s expressed his frustration over his snub, and he’s easily one of the worst snubs in all of baseball this year. However, he recently got an invite to participate in the all-Star Game. But he declined.

As Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic reports, Wheeler declined this All-Star invite from MLB for a simple reason: Wheeler felt “disrespected” as he felt he was MLB’s “fifth choice” rather than the top selection he feels he deserves to be.

Zack Wheeler declines All-Star invite after being ‘disrespected’ by MLB

“Zack Wheeler said the league approached him last night about being an All-Star replacement,” Varnes reports. “He declined. He said he did not want to be the fifth choice and felt disrespected.”

This is an understandable reaction from Wheeler, as he was disrespected by MLB for being passed up for an All-Star nod this season.

Wheeler has a 2.28 ERA this season with a 9-1 record and 4.4 bWAR in 14 starts, which included his most recent outing, which was a 14-strikeout, seven-inning win over the Cincinnati Reds.

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There’s no denying that Wheeler was an All-Star snub, but he had a chance to earn an All-Star nod this season as a replacement, which would’ve been his fourth All-Star, all with the Phillies, and his third straight nod.

But, since he felt disrespected by Major League Baseball for being passed up a few times for an All-Star nod, he didn’t accept their invite.

The saga of the Phillies’ ace and his All-Star snub is now officially over, as Wheeler turned down his last chance to participate in the All-Star Game.

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