Four members of the Toronto Blue Jays were named to a star-studded list of players comprising the 2021 All-MLB teams, an honour that recognizes excellence achieved over the full breadth of a big league season.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Marcus Semien and Robbie Ray were named to the First Team. Teoscar Hernandez was awarded a place on the Second Team.
An incredible way to cap off Award Season. Congrats to our FOUR #AllMLB Team selections! pic.twitter.com/EN8aL1fYWU
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 24, 2021
The All-MLB teams are split into first and second teams, decided by voters charged with considering only regular season performance when casting their ballots. Fans accounted for 50 per cent of the voting, and a panel of experts handled the other 50 per cent.
Guerrero Jr., who was named the first base player for the All-MLB First Team, enjoyed a prolific campaign in which he tied Salvador Perez for the MLB home run title while leading the league in runs with 123.
Semien earned his place on the First Team with a record-setting season that saw him establish new highs for home runs by a second baseman.
Ray's resurgent season saw him capture both the American League Cy Young award as well as his first-career All-MLB nod. He led the American League in ERA (2.84), innings (193 1/3), ERA+ (154) and WHIP (1.045) while leading all of MLB in strikeouts (248).
Hernandez secured a place on the Second Team, coming off a season in which he won a Silver Slugger and posted a slash line of .296/.346/.524, 32 home runs and 116 RBI.
Joining the members of the Blue Jays on the first team was Shohei Ohtani, the two-way wonder who dominated as both a pitcher and hitter, as the First Team designated hitter.
The selection marked the first time Ohtani had been named to an All-MLB team, a fitting honour after he became the first American League player to ever have at least 45 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 100 runs scored in a season. Ohtani was also named to the Second Team as a starting pitcher.
A full list of players selected to the First and Second All-MLB teams can be found below.
First Team
Catcher: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
First base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
Second base: Marcus Semien, Toronto Blue Jays
Third base: Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves
Shortstop: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
Outfield: Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals, Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees
Starting pitchers: Max Scherzer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers, Robbie Ray of the Toronto Blue Jays, Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees, Walker Buehler of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Relief pitchers: Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers, Liam Hendriks of the Chicago White Sox
Second Team
Catcher: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
Designated Hitter: Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
First base: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
Second base: Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
Third base: Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
Shortstop: Trea Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers
Outfield: Nick Castellanos of the Cincinnati Reds, Kyle Tucker of the Houston Astros, Teoscar Hernandez of the Toronto Blue Jays
Pitchers: Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, Julio Urías of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kevin Gausman of the San Francisco Giants, Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves, Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies
Relief pitchers: Raisel Iglesias of the Los Angeles Angels, Kenley Jansen of the Los Angeles Dodgers
