Former UNC Baseball pitcher named to All-MLB First Team

Former UNC Baseball pitcher Zac Gallen capped off a banner season for the Arizona Diamondbacks when he was named a starting pitcher on the All-MLB First Team. He is the first former Tar Heel to be honored since Major League Baseball began selecting All-MLB Teams after the 2019 season.

Gallen spent three years with UNC Baseball from 2014 to 2016, and was a second-team all-ACC pitcher as a sophomore and a junior. He was especially dominant in his final two years, tallying 169 strikeouts. It wasn't enough to keep him from the occasional dugout ribbing, like what happened after the Tar Heels upended Notre Dame in May 2016.

In 2023, his fifth full season in the majors, Gallen made his first career appearance in the All-Star Game and was the National League team's starting pitcher. He also finished third in NL Cy Young voting. He helped spark the Diamondbacks' Cinderella run to the World Series with a 17-9 record, 220 strikeouts, and a 3.47 ERA.

In Gallen's honor, UNC Baseball coach Scott Forbes donned a Gallen jersey in October.

In Game 5 of the Series, Gallen no-hit the Texas Rangers for six innings, ultimately allowing only one run in 6 1/3 innings. However, the Rangers went on to win that game 5-0, giving them their first world title. Gallen was saddled with the loss in part due to inadequate run support. The Diamondbacks left 11 men on base, three of which came when they loaded the bases in the fifth inning and failed to score.

Gallen's sterling 2023 season came on the heels of a 2022 season in which he was one of the bright spots on a Diamondbacks team that finished 74-88, well out of the pennant race. He finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting and went 44 1/3 innings without allowing a run from Aug. 2 through Sept. 11--the seventh-longest scoreless streak in major league history. After winning only 10 games in his first three seasons, he finished 12-4 with a 2.54 ERA.

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