Miguel Vargas wasn't exactly a household name walking into his first All-Star Game. A former Dodgers infield prospect who bounced around before finding his footing on the South Side, Vargas earned the nod this year off a legit breakout: a .245/.355/.493 line with 21 home runs and an .848 OPS while the White Sox hung around the AL Central race. First-timer, unproven on the big stage. That changed in the top of the 8th.
All Star Miguel Vargas with an UPPER DECK SHOT
The number that jumped off the screen wasn't even the 4-0 score, it was 433 feet at 107 mph off the bat. That's not a normal All-Star Game souvenir, that's the kind of blast that makes a catcher on the other bench do a double take when the Statcast numbers pop up. Per MLB.com, the shot ties for the third-longest homer of the Statcast era (dating back to 2015) at an All-Star Game, and it came off Dodgers lefty Justin Wrobleski, of all people, given Vargas actually came up through the Dodgers system.
It was also the only extra-base hit of the game for either side, which tells you how much that one swing mattered to the final score. The AL rolled to a 4-0 shutout of the NL, and Vargas's blast was the offensive centerpiece of the whole thing. For a guy who spent years fighting for a everyday role, hitting the biggest homer of an All-Star Game in his first appearance is about as loud an introduction as it gets.
There's a fun subplot buried in here too. Vargas came up through the Dodgers organization before landing in Chicago, and this All-Star Game doubled as a mini reunion with former teammate and roommate Andy Pages, who also made the roster. Taking a former org-mate deep, on a ball off a current Dodger, in front of a national audience, is the kind of poetic detail that writes itself.
Vargas also joined a short list of White Sox to go deep in an All-Star Game, alongside names like Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez, which is a pretty exclusive club for a guy who wasn't even a lock to make this roster a year ago. For a White Sox team still trying to convince people it's a real contender in the Central, having a genuine All-Star bomb to point to doesn't hurt the case, and it definitely raises the volume on Vargas heading into the second half.