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SEATTLE — Nasim Nuñez’s cleats had the words “Esta en la sangre,” which translates to “It’s in the blood.” The shoes were a tribute to his late grandfather Jose, who was known for the saying.
“Two weeks, maybe like a week-and-a-half ago my grandfather passed away, and he’s the one who put the bat and ball in my hands,” the Miami Marlins prospect said. “He’d always yell at me, ‘Hit the ball. Hit the ball. Uppercut, uppercut.’ All this stuff. And he passed away from lung cancer and prostate cancer.”
Nuñez was selected MVP of the All-Star Futures Game on Saturday after his three-run double off Toronto’s Yosver Zulueta in the sixth inning helped the National League beat the American 5-0.
“This game was really for him,” said Nuñez, a Double-A infielder who turns 23 next month, said of his grandpa. “Everything in the future’s going to be for him, as well, and I know he’s always going to be with me.”
Milwaukee’s Jeferson Quero had an RBI single and Philadelphia’s Justin Crawford — a son of four-time All-Star Carl Crawford — hit a sacrifice fly that built the lead in a two-run second against Kansas City’s Will Klein.
The Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski showed remarkable velocity. The 21-year-old right-hander, who pitches at Class A, reached 100 mph with 10 of 18 pitches and topped out at 102.4 mph. He struck out the side in a one-hit fourth.
Jackson Holliday had a longer trip than anticipated to the Futures Game.
Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, a son of former All-Star Matt Holliday, traveled Friday from Greensboro, North Carolina, where he helped the Aberdeen IronBirds beat the Grasshoppers in a Class A game the previous night.
“We had a little malfunction in our plane, so it was delayed about six hours,” he said.
Holliday’s delay occurred when making a connection at Detroit. He arrived in Seattle about 6 p.m.
He signed with Baltimore for an $8.19 million bonus, hit .409 in eight games with the Orioles’ rookie league team, then was promoted to Class A Delmarva, where he also started this season. Holliday was promoted to High A Aberdeen on April 25 and is batting .396 with two homers and 16 RBIs in 14 games. He struck out in his only Futures Game at-bat.
Matt Holliday was a seven-time All-Star.
“I talk to him almost almost every day, just calling to see what’s going on back home,” Jackson said. “But every now and then if he sees something in my swing, he’ll shoot me a text.”
Holliday is watching the Orioles’ success on a daily basis.
“It definitely leaks down. A lot of those guys played in Aberdeen last year,” he said.
Playing in Seattle once felt like a constant for Kyle Manzardo when he’d make trips with his travel team in Spokane, Washington, over the Cascade Mountains for games and tournaments.
“By the time I got to high school I was over here every weekend with the travel baseball schedule,” Manzardo said.
Manzardo’s return for the Futures Game was a little more meaningful. The native of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and collegiate star at Washington State has played this season for Durham, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Manzardo didn’t end up playing and was just a spectator on Saturday after leaving Thursday’s game for Durham with a sore shoulder.
It’s been a rapid ascent through the Rays system for Manzardo. Selected in the second round of the 2021 draft, Manzardo hit .327 with 22 homers and 81 RBIs between Class A and Double-A last season. It’s been a little tougher this season in Durham, where the first baseman is hitting .238 with 19 doubles, 11 homers and 38 RBIs in 73 games.
“I’m kind of facing some new challenges and a little bit of struggles in Triple-A this year, but I’m working through it,” Manzardo said. “I’m still hitting the ball hard, seeing it well. It’s not anything crazy. It’s been great.”
Manzardo estimated about 30 or 40 relatives and friends were expected to be at the game.
“If you would give me the pick of the litter to do the Futures Game anywhere, I’d choose Seattle,” Manzardo said.
The coaching staffs of both teams were littered with former Mariners, headed up by American manager Harold Reynolds and National manager Raul Ibañez.
Reynolds’ staff included Mike Cameron, Jay Buhner, Alvin Davis, Jamie Moyer and Dave Valle. Ibañez’s coaches included Félix Hernández, Adrián Beltré, Dan Wilson, Randy Winn and Joel Piñeiro.
It was a special opportunity for both managers, especially Reynolds, who played for the team at a time when its future in Seattle was tenuous.
“It’s special to sit here this many years later and host an All-Star Game for a team that you thought would be gone. Out of town,” Reynolds said. “We watched the Sonics leave and it leaves a hole in the city. And I can’t even imagine what it would be like if the Mariners weren’t here.”
There was also a notable photographer bouncing between the dugouts — Ken Griffey Jr.
The automated ball-strike system with appeals was used and upheld plate umpire Marco Hammond three of four times, agreeing on a 2-1 pitch by Kansas City’s Will Klein to Pittsburgh’s Endy Rodríguez in the second that was called a ball and to called third strikes from Zulueta to Philadelphia’s Justin Crawford and St. Louis’ Victor Scott II in the sixth. A 3-1 pitch from the Cardinals’ Trick Hence to Detroit’s Justyn-Henry Malloy in the second that originally was called a strike was changed to ball four.
Klein, a 23-year-old right-hander, wore a yellow right cleat and a blue one on his left.
San Francisco left-hander Kyle Harrison, a the top pitching prospect, missed the game after straining a hamstring this week during a workout between starts with Triple-A Sacramento.
