In his first full season in the major leagues, St. John's alum Joe Panik will be going to the All-Star Game. The San Francisco Giants second baseman was selected by his manager Bruce Bochy and his coaching staff as a reserve for their National League team in the 2015 MLB All-Star Game, which will be held on Tuesday, July 14th at Great American Ballpark, the home of the Cincinnati Reds.
Panik has been a mainstay for San Francisco at second base this season, appearing in 80 of the team's 83 games so far in 2015. His .304 average and 93 hits each rank second among qualified National League second baseman, both trailing only All-Star Game starter Dee Gordon of the Miami Marlins. Panik also leads all NL second baseman with a .370 on-base percentage and .444 slugging percentage.
After being called up midway through the 2014 season in San Francisco, Panik took the second base position and ran with it, eventually playing in all 17 postseason games for a Giants team that would capture their third World Series title in the past five seasons.
Panik played baseball at St. John's from 2009-11, earning a first team All-Big East selection in 2011 after hitting .398 with 10 home runs and 57 R.B.I. during his junior season. He is joined by his Giants teammates Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Crawford, and Buster Posey on the National League team.