Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa and second baseman Jose Altuve announced Thursday that they will not be attending the All-Star Game at Coors Field.
Both players were selected to the American League squad as reserves. The first-place Astros will still be represented in the game by outfielder Michael Brantley, who also is a reserve.
Correa, who leads the Astros with a .390 on-base percentage, said Thursday that he needs to be with his wife, Daniella, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child, due in November.
“Baseball is really important to me, but family will always come first,” Correa said, adding that he’s grateful for everyone who voted for him.
“It’s a tough decision. … People voted for me to be in it. People want to see me play in it, but we’ve been trying now for a long time to have our first child, and now that it’s finally there in her belly, I want to be able to spend those days with her,” he said.
Altuve, who leads the Astros with 19 home runs, said he is skipping the All-Star Game so he can rest his ailing left leg. He said he does not need any procedures done on the leg and thanked the fans for voting for him.
“I need those four days to get everything with my leg right and be really healthy for the second half because I feel like the team needs me 100%,” he said.
Correa lobbed for Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel to replace him in Denver. Gurriel leads the Astros with 92 hits this season.
“He should have been an All-Star in the first place. His numbers speak for themselves. He’s an All-Star caliber player, he’s an ambassador of the game,” he said, noting that Gurriel was a star in Cuba before coming to the major leagues.
This was the second time Correa had been selected for an All-Star Game and the seventh time for Altuve.