Gray was selected to take the place of Max Scherzer on the National League squad Tuesday night in Cleveland. Scherzer threw 103 pitches in seven scoreless innings in the Washington Nationals 6-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night. He will be honored as an All-Star but will not be available to pitch.
Gray, who is 5-5 with a 3.59 ERA and 103 strikeouts will take his place. It will be the second AS selection for Gray. He was a member of the American League team in 2015 but didn't pitch in the game at Great American Ball Park. Gray is also among the NL leaders of the lowest batting average against category at .224.
"David called me last night with Dick (Williams) on the phone," Gray said. "It was really excited. Having to leave tomorrow, there are so many thoughts in my head. There are so many guys that are deserving. It is an honor. I've always said I know what kind of pitcher I was. Being here and making the transition has been an amazing experience. Being with DJ (pitching coach Derek Johnson) has been such a blessing. I feel he's taught me how to pitch twice."
Johnson was Gray's pitching coach at Vanderbilt University.
The Reds' have developed one of the best pitching staffs in the game as shown by first half statistics. Bell pointed out that Gray joining Luis Castillo honors the team.
"He had planned to do something else," Bell said. "It was a welcome change of plans for him. When you hear it from someone else's voice, you remember how much it means to be recognized as one of the best players in the game. He deserves it. I figured he'd be excited but it was fun hearing it in his voice."
"We know what we have in him, whether he was on the All-Star team or not. It's nice when you get rewarded. We talk about how good our pitching has been. He's been a big part of that. We have one of the top staffs in the game. It is nice when you get a couple guys recognized for that."
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