Former Danvers American Little League All-Star pitcher Shane Smith made his MLB All-Star Game debut Tuesday. Here's how the White Sox rookie did.
ATLANTA— Though his appearance was brief, Danvers native Shane Smith can officially say he's pitched in the MLB All-Star Game.
The 25-year-old pitcher, who became the first Chicago White Sox rookie pitcher and just the second player in MLB history to be selected as an All-Star the season after being taken in the Rule 5 Draft, came into the game for the American League in the bottom of the eighth Tuesday, tossing ⅓ of an inning in relief. He faced a pair of National League batters, hitting Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez with a pitch before getting Washington Nationals left fielder James Wood to ground into a fielder's choice at third, with the Kansas City Royals' Maikel Garcia throwing out Suárez at second.
After that, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, serving as the American League manager, pulled the former Danvers American Little League and Governor's Academy standout in favor of Seattle Mariners reliever Andrés Muñoz, who retired two of the next three hitters to end the inning.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me," Smith told Chicago Sports Network's Brooke Fletcher ahead of the game. "I want to treat it as such. You always want to come back to these, but you never know."
Smith was joined at the game by his girlfriend as well as his parents and sisters, with the team posting a video to X of them cheering as he sent up a heart and tipped his cap to them and the crowd following player introductions.
Smith was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers as an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest University following the 2021 MLB Draft, spending three seasons in their organization before being selected by the White Sox with the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB Rule 5 Draft, in which MLB teams are allowed to select minor league prospects from other organizations that aren't part of their 40-man roster.
He quickly found success on the South Side, being named to that starting rotation after impressing in Spring Training, and making his MLB debut against the Minnesota Twins on April 1, going 5⅔ innings giving up a pair of runs on a pair of hits and 4 walks while striking out 3 in a no-decision.
Through the first half of his rookie season, Smith is 3-7, giving up 41 earned runs on 76 hits and 37 walks while, striking out 81 for a 4.26 ERA, the 7th best ERA among qualified rookies in 2025.
As for how the Midsummer Classic played out, with the score tied 6-6 after nine innings, the game went to a first-ever home run swing-off with Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber going long on all three of his swings to give the National League the 4-3 swing-off win.
The White Sox return to action on Friday in Pittsburgh, kicking off a three game series with the Pirates. As for when Smith can be seen back in the Bay State, the South Siders don't have another series scheduled with the Boston Red Sox for the rest of the season. He did make an appearance at Fenway Park on April 19, however, going 4⅔ innings giving up a pair of runs on 5 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 3 for a no-decision in an eventual 4-3 Red Sox win.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Danvers native, White Sox pitcher Shane Smith appears in All-Star Game
Category: Baseball
