Tauchman 'appreciates the support' in 1st All-Star ballot update
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CHICAGO -- There have been some outstanding moments for Mike Tauchman over his eight-year Major League Baseball career, currently playing out in 2025 with the White Sox.
One of them actually came against the White Sox last season when Tauchman’s walk-off home run against Michael Kopech gave his then-Cubs team a victory in the Crosstown Classic. But the left-handed-hitting outfielder has never been selected as an All-Star.
That fact has a chance to change in 2025, as an All-Star starter. Tauchman ranked third among American League designated hitters in the first update of All-Star balloting officially announced Monday. The AL DH spot immediately was opened up by the trade of Rafael Devers from Boston to the Giants on Sunday, taking away the clear-cut voting leader at that position.
With Devers and his 796,382 votes situated behind Shohei Ohtani in the National League, it’s Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn in the lead at 353,029 votes, followed by the Yankees’ Ben Rice at 232,331, Tauchman at 177,483 and Yordan Alvarez at 172,720.
“I appreciate the support. It would obviously be cool,” Tauchman told the media prior to Wednesday’s contest with the Cardinals being postponed due to rain. “We have some other guys here who are worth a lot of consideration that are having great seasons.
“Shane Smith and Miguel Vargas deserve some consideration, too. So, kind of see what happens in the next month.”
Tauchman is a veteran focused on team results and not individual accomplishments, making him extremely valuable to this rebuilding White Sox squad full of top prospects getting their first look at big league life. He played in career game No. 500 during Tuesday’s 12-2 loss but didn’t even know of the accomplishment until it was put online.
"He's been a vocal leader for us,” said White Sox manager Will Venable. “Somebody that has stood up in front of the group and had a lot of positive messages. He takes a big part in the effort to hold the group accountable to things and really sets expectations for our group. So he's had a huge impact.”
“It’s cool. Round numbers are cool,” added Tauchman of Game No. 500. “Just kind of keep going.”
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Games No. 501 and 502 will likely be on Thursday, with the White Sox playing a straight doubleheader at Rate Field beginning at 1:10 p.m. CT. The White Sox will try to bounce back from the shellacking in the series opener, which was uncharacteristic of their recent improved on-field play.
No, they aren’t piling up wins. In fact, the White Sox enter the doubleheader with a six-game losing streak and a 23-50 record this season. They are making strides, eventually leading to better results.
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“We've played well at times to show sort of a formula that this team seems to kind of have, which is I think our starting pitching has been pretty good, for the most part,” Tauchman said. “When those guys are able to pitch into the sixth or seventh inning and we play clean baseball on the defensive side, for the most part, we've played some really, really clean baseball on the defensive side.
“Offensively, it's selective aggressiveness, where I think we have some balance in our lineup and when we're able to go out there and hit mistakes and lay off of quality pitchers’ pitches and drive starters' pitch counts up and get to the bullpen. Stuff like that, it's in a majority of our wins, that's kind of been the formula, right? Good starting pitching, clean defense and opportunistic hitting, and it's just continuing to do that more consistently. It’s kind of the goal with everybody."
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Tauchman has an .854 OPS with four homers and 13 RBIs over 108 plate appearances and 26 games limited by right hamstring injuries. His play has resonated with the voters, not to mention his play with the Cubs, Yankees, Rockies and Giants from past seasons.
“It’s not really something I look for or expect,” Tauchman said. “Obviously, the first part of the season didn’t really go the way I wanted.
“I’m kind of hoping that’s behind me and continuing to work behind the scenes to stay healthy and be productive and help this team win games. I believe in the group. We’ve come a long way as a team, and you know guys are getting better, and that’s kind of what it’s all about.”