ALL-STAR GAME NOTES
La Stella, the former Cubs pinch-hitting specialist who was named to the American League squad as a reserve, made the trip to Cleveland despite being unable to play after fouling a ball off his right shin Tuesday and fracturing his tibia. He’s expected to be out eight to 10 weeks.
“It’s difficult obviously,” La Stella said. “I wish I had an opportunity to be out there, but it’s OK.”
La Stella, 30, was having a breakthrough year after the Cubs traded him to the Angels in November for minor-league pitcher Conor Lillis-White. He’s hitting .300 with career highs of 16 home runs and 44 RBIs and was leading the voting at second base early on, which most attributed to the massive support of Cubs fans.
“I’m sure they did (vote for me),” he said. “I know the fan vote was pretty close there for a while. Thank you to everybody in Chicago that was voting. It was pretty special.”
La Stella started only 24 games last year and had 90 plate appearances as a pinch hitter, going 24-for-77 (.312) to set a franchise record for pinch hits in a season.
Given the chance to play regularly, he flourished in Anaheim.
“It was a combination of things,” he said. “ I had a lot to learn about playing every day in the big leagues and what that takes. Being over there with that group of guys (on the Cubs), I learned a lot. Pinch hitting for those few years, I learned a lot about myself as a hitter, too, that ultimately helped me.”
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