Jean Segura has played like an All Star all season, and last night was no different

Jean Segura has played like an All Star all season.

He’s slashing .323/.354/.458, with a batting average that places him as fifth-best among all (qualified) players.

He’s been worth 2.9 fWAR - more than any other Mariners’ position player, and more than double his projections - and his 13% strikeout rate is nearly a career low.

He has the thirteenth-highest contact rate on pitches outside of the zone, seventh-highest overall contact rate in the majors, and the fourth-highest contact rate on pitches in the zone. Essentially, if you throw anywhere to Jean Segura, he’s going to make contact. His contact% heat map is stunning.

Segura has played like an All Star all season, but the general public wasn’t convinced and failed to vote him into the starting lineup.

But baseball is a team sport, as the platitudes constantly remind us, and when it was announced that Segura was on the Final Vote ballot all facets of his team sprang into action. His teammates in the clubhouse rallied around him, offering up signed equipment and opportunities as rewards for votes; his teammates in the Mariners front office led a Final Vote campaign that took the rest of MLB by storm; and his team of supporters - friends, family, and fans alike - voted feverishly to ensure his achievements this season would not go unrecognized. And so Segura was sent to D.C.

He walked the red carpet.

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

He partook in the on-field interviews.

https://www.mlb.com/cut4/all-star-shortstops-run-away-from-bp-line-drive/c-286273880

And, finally, he made his 2018 All Star Game debut in the eighth.

And kept the momentum going all game.

One of the most frustrating things about being a sports fan is our utter inability to affect the game and the players we love, but if you were one of the thousands (millions?) who voted for Segura in the Final Vote you should be proud of your role in what transpired last night....Nelson Cruz certainly was.

Last night, in the All Star Game, Jean Segura played like an All Star, just like he has all season.