By Larry LaRue
The News Tribune
LOS ANGELES – An injury that sidelined Tampa outfielder Greg Vaughn on Sunday made Mike Cameron an All-Star and made him the second Seattle player chosen as a replacement in the last two days.
After having four players voted into the All-Star Game, the Mariners’ roster has now supplied the game with eight players.
Center fielder Cameron finished the first half with a .277 batting average, 15 home runs and 58 RBI. When Vaughn couldn’t go, Yankees manager Joe Torre called Seattle and – a day after adding reliever Jeff Nelson to the roster – picked Cameron.
That means when All-Star players are introduced before the game at Safeco Field on Tuesday, eight Mariners will be among them: Bret Boone, Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, Ichiro Suzuki, Freddy Garcia, Kazuhiro Sasaki, Nelson and Cameron.
Heady stuff for a team that only once before had more than five players on an All-Star team.
“Our assistant GM, Lee (Pelekoudas) called me into the tunnel behind the dugout just before I went on deck,” Cameron said. “I thought my house burned down, but when he told me, I gave him a big hug.
“The first thing I’m going to do (today) is find Joe Torre and give him a big hug. This is just too good to be true, playing in the All-Star Game in front of the fans that have been so good to me.”
After getting the news, Cameron banged into a double play and took heat from his teammates.
“They started saying I couldn’t be an All-Star if I grounded into a double play,” Cameron said.
No problem. In his next at-bat, Cameron tripled.
“He deserves to be an All-Star, he’s played so well for us all season,” manager Lou Piniella said. “You won’t find a better center fielder or a nicer man.”
Vaughn withdrew Sunday because of a strained right hamstring, leaving the Tampa Devil Rays, whose 27-61 record is baseball’s worst, without an All-Star.
Vaughn was hurt in the first inning of the Devil Rays’ 6-1 loss to Florida while running to first base on a fielder’s choice. He still intended to travel to Seattle.
“My plan before I got hurt was to go there, so I’m going to go out there,” Vaughn said. “I’ll be a part of it, everything except playing the game.
“The real disappointment is being in last place. That’s disappointment.”
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