Cincinnati Baseball: Ian Happ named MLB All-Star for first time

Seven years ago, Ian Happ was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the 9th overall pick in the MLB Draft, becoming the first Bearcat to ever get drafted in the first round. Now he’s adding MLB All-Star to his resumé after being announced as a reserve in the upcoming All-Star Game, which will take place on Tuesday, July 19 in Los Angeles.

Cincinnati Baseball: Ian Happ named MLB All-Star for first time

Happ only spent three years at Cincinnati but is undoubtedly one of the best players in school history. The Pennsylvania product was named 2015 AAC Player of the Year and earned All-AAC First Team honors in 2014 and 2015. Happ finished his career with the third best on-base percentage (.463) and fifth most stolen bases (56) in Bearcats history.

Following a stint in the Cubs farm system, Happ was promoted to the majors in 2017 and has spent the last six seasons in Chicago. With less than a week until the All-Star break, Happ has racked up eight home runs, 23 doubles, 39 runs and 40 RBI to go with a .276 batting average and .370 on-base percentage in 346 plate appearances.

"“It’s just years of hard work and everything that goes into it, you think about all the people that helped along the way. I got super emotional then talking to my family. It hasn’t set in but I couldn’t contain it,” Happ said after being named an All-Star via Marquee Sports Network. “It’s an honor to be able to call yourself a big league all-star and I’m humbled by it.”"

Happ continued to discuss why it was such an emotional moment: “When we were here last year, (David) Ross basically said I wasn’t going to play in the series much because I was struggling so bad. From just being at that point to getting an opportunity the last two months of last year, riding that to this year and having this first half. I mean baseball is a wild ride.”