Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Diaz Joins Franchise History with All-Star Home Run

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Yandy Diaz joined some franchise history on Tuesday with his home run in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Yandy Diaz hit a solo home run on Tuesday night in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Seattle.

Diaz, making his first All-Star Game appearance, hit his home run off of Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller. The ball was driven out to left field and gave the American League a 1-0 lead, which they still hold at the time of this posting.

You can watch the home run below, and see that Diaz joined a small group in Rays team history, courtesy of Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Rays to homer in the All-Star Game: 

Today Yandy Díaz 

2021 Mike Zunino 

2007 Carl Crawford

Rays to homer in the All-Star Game:

Today Yandy Díaz
2021 Mike Zunino
2007 Carl Crawford https://t.co/KOPNgKh1lz

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 12, 2023

The Rays haven't even existed as a franchise for 30 years, so it's not impossible to see why that number is so small, but with talented players like Evan Longoria having played in multiple All-Star Games, it's still a little surprising that it hasn't happened more often. 

Diaz is having the best year of his career for Tampa. The 31-year-old native of Cuba is hitting .323, which is the highest mark in the American League. He's also got 13 homers and has helped lead the Rays to the best mark in American League at 58-35.

He's one of four All-Stars for the Rays, alongside Shane McClanahan, Randy Arozarena and Wander Franco. McClanahan was unable to play because of a back issue which put him on the injured list.

The Rays will open the second half of the season on Friday, July 14. They'll be on the road against the Kansas City Royals.

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