SF Giants’ Logan Webb, Heliot Ramos reflect on their All-Star experiences
Logan Webb enjoyed the festivities the night before more than his performance in the All-Star Game the following day.
DENVER — With the three runs he surrendered in the National League’s loss Tuesday in Texas, Logan Webb joined a long line of Giants pitchers who had All-Star performances they would prefer to forget.
In Webb’s case, though, the night before is a bit hazy in his memory.
“Obviously, I wished I pitched a little better, but I definitely enjoyed myself,” Webb said Friday, reflecting on his first All-Star experience. “Probably enjoyed myself a little too much the night before at some of the festivities. But it was a great time.”
Webb, at least, was feeling well enough to appear in the game, unlike Tim Lincecum, who spent the 2008 game hospitalized with “flu-like symptoms.” And Webb didn’t quite get hit around like Atlee Hammaker was in 1983 when Hammaker surrendered a grand slam to Fred Lynn.
That said, the competitor he is, Webb was beginning to feel the heat in the third inning. Marcus Semien led off with a single, Steven Kwan drew a walk, and Juan Soto doubled them both home. David Fry tacked on a third run before Webb could strike out Jose Ramirez to end the inning on his 31st pitch.
“There was a moment during that inning where I was like, ‘I need someone to come get me out of this,'” Webb said. “I walked in to the dugout and I was saying ‘My bad’ to all the guys and literally every single one of the guys was like, ‘Dude, who gives a you-know-what? You feel all right?’ I said yeah, and they said that’s all that matters.
“It was all fun. I was frustrated, obviously. I didn’t want to go out there and give up three runs, but the experience was amazing. Hopefully, I’ll get to try again, and this time, I’ll know better.”
The Giants hope there are many more opportunities for both of their representatives.
Also receiving his first nod, outfielder Heliot Ramos struck out against Kirby Yates in his only at-bat. But he understood the assignment.
“I wanted to hit a tank, but if not, f— it, you know?” Ramos said. “It is what it is. It’s the All-Star Game.”
The highlight of the week for Ramos, 24, was the opportunity to interact with some of the game’s biggest names. He lockered next to another former Giants farmhand, Bryan Reynolds, and met the Reds’ dynamic shortstop, Elly De La Cruz, for the first time.
Hitting in the cage with Freddie Freeman, Ramos told the Dodgers’ first baseman that he was having some trouble with fastballs up in the zone.
“Just push it down,” Freeman told him. “Try to foul off that high pitch and try to make the pitcher bring it down.”
Whisked between a never-ending stream of autograph requests, interviews and other responsibilities, both Giants All-Stars remarked that the experience was “a lot.” Ramos said he was so tired that he was among the many players who left the home run derby early.
Among the few players who stuck around were Webb and rookie sensation Paul Skenes, both taking in their first All-Star weekend.
“I got to talk to him a ton,” Webb said. “I kind of picked his brain, but it’s kind of hard because I throw zero like him. His splinker is like three mph harder than my fastball.”
Webb eventually headed to the afterparty, and he wasn’t the only one to enjoy himself. One guy he didn’t spot there, though, was Skenes, who used his triple-digit fastball to record a scoreless first inning the following day as the first rookie to start the All-Star Game since Dwight Gooden.
“There’s no excuses, but I probably didn’t take the best care of myself the night before,” Webb chuckled. “That’s what it’s for. I wasn’t the only guy.”