Bartolo Colon in uniform for the Karachi Monarchs at Baseball United Media Day in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 19, 2023. (Photo: Leif Skodnick/World Baseball Network)
Staff Reports
World Baseball Network
Baseball United released the rosters for the two All-Star teams that will square off at the Dubai Showcase, which has been reschedule for November 24-25 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The All-Star games will feature 44 players who were recently selected in the inaugural Baseball United draft, with approximately 75% of those players having played Major League Baseball. Other players appeared in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, the Triple-A level of the U.S. minor leagues, the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, and the Australian Baseball League.
“We are honored to bring many of our best players to Dubai for our first-ever professional games,” said Kash Shaikh, the Chairman, CEO, and Majority Owner of Baseball United in a release. “Our All-Stars come from 16 different countries and have played at the highest levels of professional baseball. This is truly something the region has never seen. Our fans will get to witness history. It’s the perfect way to launch our league.”
Bartolo Colon will start the November 24 game for the East All-Stars against Jair Jurrjens for the West All-Stars.
Colon, 50, is the winningest Latin American pitcher in major league history, having played 21 seasons in MLB and winning 247 games with Cleveland, Montreal, the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Angels, Boston, the New York Yankees, Oakland, the New York Mets, Atlanta, Minnesota, and Texas. He was the 2005 American League Cy Young Award winner with the Angels, going 21-8 with a 3.48 ERA and an ERA+ of 122. A native of Altamira, Dominican Republic, Colon pitcher 3461.2 innings in the Major Leagues with a 4.12 ERA
Jurrjens, 37, began his MLB career with Detroit in 2007 before spending the next five seasons with the Atlanta Braves before finishing his MLB career in Baltimore and Colorado. In Major League Baseball, Jurrjens holds a 53-38 career record with an ERA of 3.72 in 130 MLB games, throwing 767.1 innings. Since leaving Major League Baseball, Jurrjens has pitched in the U.S. minor leagues, the Atlantic League, the Chinese Professional Baseball League, the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, the Liga Venezolana Beisbol Profesional, and in the 2023 Caribbean Series for Curacao.
Major League veterans Dennis Cook and Miguel Tejada will manage the East All-Stars, while former Seattle Mariners manager John McLaren and former Cincinnati Reds infielder Chris Sabo will manage the West All-Stars.
East All-Stars
NAME | POSITION | AGE | FRANCHISE | HIGHEST LEAGUE | HOMETOWN/POB |
JEFRY MARTE | 1B | 32 | MONARCHS | MLB | LA ROMANA, DR |
SHED LONG | 2B | 28 | COBRAS | MLB | BIRMINGHAM, AL, USA |
ANDRELTON SIMMONS | SS | 34 | COBRAS | MLB | WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO |
PABLO SANDOVAL | 3B | 37 | FALCONS | MLB | PUERTO CABELLO, VENEZUELA |
DWIGHT SMITH JR. | LF | 30 | WOLVES | MLB | PEACHTREE CITY, GA, USA |
JACOB ROBSON | CF | 28 | COBRAS | MLB | LONDON, ON, CANADA |
DILLON THOMAS | RF | 30 | FALCONS | MLB | HOUSTON, TX, USA |
COURTNEY HAWKINS | DH | 29 | WOLVES | NPB | CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, USA |
HECTOR SANCHEZ | C | 33 | MONARCHS | MLB | MARACAY, VENEZUELA |
BARTOLO COLON | RHP | 50 | MONARCHS | MLB | ALTAMIRA, DR |
CARLOS GARZON | C | 31 | COBRAS | LMB | OAXACA, MEXICO |
BRANTLEY BELL | IF | 28 | COBRAS | AAA | PITTSBURGH, PA, USA |
RUSNEY CASTILLO | OF | 36 | FALCONS | MLB | CIEGO DE AVILA, CUBA |
GABRIEL GUERRERO | OF | 29 | FALCONS | MLB | NIZAO, DOMINICAN REP |
DAVID HUFF | LHP | 39 | MONARCHS | MLB | HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA, USA |
SEVERINO GONZALEZ | RHP | 31 | FALCONS | MLB | SANTIAGO, PANAMA |
AKEEL MORRIS | RHP | 30 | COBRAS | MLB | SAINT THOMAS, USVI |
BRIAN SCHLITTER | RHP | 37 | WOLVES | MLB | OAK PARK, IL, USA |
SHINGO HIRATA | RHP | 34 | MONARCHS | NPB | SHIMONOSEKI, JAPAN |
DOVYDAS NEVERAUSKAS | RHP | 29 | WOLVES | MLB | VILNIUS, LITHUANIA |
REGGIE MCCLAIN | RHP | 30 | WOLVES | MLB | DULUTH, GA, USA |
KONSTA KURIKKA | RHP | 22 | FALCONS | ABL | MIKKELI, FINLAND |
West All-Stars
NAME | POSITION | AGE | FRANCHISE | HIGHEST LEAGUE | HOMETOWN/POB |
ALEX LIDDI | 1B | 35 | FALCONS | MLB | SANREMO, ITALY |
ROBINSON CANO | 2B | 41 | WOLVES | MLB | SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, DR |
DIDI GREGORIUS | SS | 33 | WOLVES | MLB | AMSTERDAM, NL |
BRANDON LAIRD | 3B | 36 | COBRAS | MLB | CYPRESS, CA, USA |
JUSTIN WILLIAMS | LF | 28 | COBRAS | MLB | HOUMA, LA, USA |
PHIL ERVIN | CF | 31 | MONARCHS | MLB | MOBILE, AL, USA |
STEVEN MOYA | RF | 32 | MONARCHS | MLB | RIO PIEDRAS, PUERTO RICO |
ALEJANDRO DE AZA | DH | 39 | FALCONS | MLB | GUAYMATE, DR |
WILIN ROSARIO | C | 34 | WOLVES | MLB | BONAO, DR |
JAIR JURRJENS | RHP | 37 | WOLVES | MLB | SANTA MARIA, CURACAO |
CARLOS MARTINEZ | C | 28 | MONARCHS | AAA | CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA |
DREW WARD | IF | 28 | MONARCHS | AAA | LEEDEY, OK, USA |
CONNOR PANAS | OF | 30 | WOLVES | AAA | TORONTO, CA |
DENIS PHIPPS | OF | 38 | MONARCHS | MLB | SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, DR |
ROBBIE ROSS | LHP | 34 | COBRAS | MLB | LEXINGTON, KY, USA |
A.J. SCHUGEL | RHP | 34 | MONARCHS | MLB | WINTER HAVEN, FL, USA |
AKEEM BOSTICK | RHP | 28 | COBRAS | MLB | FLORENCE, SC, USA |
ANDRE RIENZO | RHP | 35 | FALCONS | MLB | SAO PAULO, BRAZIL |
J.D. HAMMER | RHP | 29 | FALCONS | MLB | FORT COLLINS, CO, USA |
MITCH LIVELY | RHP | 38 | FALCONS | AAA | SUSANVILLE, CA, USA |
TIAGO DA SILVA | LHP | 38 | COBRAS | AAA | SAO PAULO, BRAZIL |
KARAN PATEL | RHP | 26 | COBRAS | AA | HOUSTON, TX, USA |