UNC Baseball: Zac Gallen impresses in All-Star Game debut

Former UNC baseball star Zac Gallen made the most of his opportunity to be the starting pitcher for the National League in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game.

If Zac Gallen had any nerves about his first MLB All-Star Game appearance, he definitely didn’t show them!

The former UNC baseball star was the National League starting pitcher in Seattle, as he threw a scoreless bottom half of the first inning.

Before we talk about his inning of work, it’s important to take note of the cleats he was wearing, which were definitely UNC baseball-inspired.

Gallen’s first challenge was Marcus Semien of the Texas Rangers. The former Tar Heel was able to get Semien to ground out to third base, setting up a big-time matchup with Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani has drawn a ton of attention this week in Seattle, and rightly so, but it was Gallen’s time to shine as he struck out the game’s best overall player.

Gallen let up a two-out single to Randy Arozarena but was helped by his defense as catcher Sean Murphy threw out the Tampa Bay Rays outfielder as he attempted to steal on the first pitch.

Overall, Gallen allowed just one hit over his inning of work, needing just 15 pitches to get back to the dugout. The highlight moment, of course, is the strikeout of Ohtani, which is a very memorable player to serve as your first MLB All-Star Game strikeout victim.

This is a tremendous honor for Gallen, who represented the UNC baseball program and the Arizona Diamondbacks organization very well. The hope is that this is the first of many All-Star Game appearances for Gallen throughout his big league career.

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