Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda (27) was not selected in the All-Star voting but continues to showcase his talent.

On the 29th (Korea time), Aranda started as the fourth baseman in a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, going 4 for 4 with 1 hit, 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 1 run, and 1 walk.

Aranda, who stepped into the batter's box in his first at-bat with one out and a runner on second base in the top of the first inning with Tampa Bay leading 1-0, hit a two-run home run over the right-center field wall off Baltimore right-handed starter Zack Eflin's sixth pitch, which was clocked at 93.3 mph (150.2 km/h). The batted ball had a speed of 111.1 mph (178.8 km/h) and a distance of 467 feet (142 m), making it a massive home run. Thanks to the efforts of Aranda and other hitters, Tampa Bay secured a dominant 11-3 victory.

Major League Baseball's official media outlet, MLB.com, reported, "Aranda's home run is the third longest in Rays franchise history since the introduction of Statcast in 2015, following Avisail García in 2019 (148 m) and Mike Zunino in 2021 (144 m)."

Aranda has a batting average of .333 (87 hits in 264 at-bats), 10 home runs, 44 RBIs, and 43 runs scored in 78 games this season, with an OPS of .915. He ranks third in batting average and tenth in OPS in Major League Baseball, but because he belongs to the Tampa Bay franchise, which is classified as a small market, he did not achieve the expected results in the All-Star voting. In the first round of voting for the American League institutional sector for first basemen, he fell to third place behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto) and Paul Goldschmidt (Yankees), missing out on the final voting.

After Aranda was eliminated from the All-Star fan voting, his teammates raised their voices, saying he should make the All-Star game. Tampa Bay outfielder Jake Mangum pleaded, "Can't we take him to Atlanta (the site of the All-Star game)? Please, he's a really good player." Starting pitcher Zack Littell also emphasized, "It just looked like he slightly twisted his wrist, but the ball flew 470 feet. That's really crazy. Aranda definitely deserves to be selected to the All-Star game."

Aranda said, "It feels really good to hit such a home run. Sometimes, I don't even know I have that kind of power inside me. I get surprised myself," while smiling. He then commented on being eliminated from the All-Star voting, saying, "I will take it as motivation," adding, "I understand the system. I know both players are star players. I am just trying to focus on what I can do. That's it."

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