Cincinnati Reds' Jesse Winker became an All-Star by showing how he really feels

By Pedro Moura
FOX Sports MLB Writer

DENVER — When Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jesse Winker found out that he made the 2021 MLB All-Star Game, his first, he cried. 

When he called his mother, Karen, a few minutes later, he cried again. When he spoke to reporters about it five hours later, he cried once more. When he recorded an interview with the MLB Players Association days later, he, of course, cried.

Winker is emotional — about his family and about baseball and his increasing place in it. The 27-year-old has always been this way, but last year, he decided to show it. When his daughter was born in May 2020, he resolved to reveal how he really felt, to stop suppressing his emotions in the hope of fitting into the baseball world.

Now he will start in left field and hit sixth for the National League in the All-Star Game (coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday on FOX). It turns out he plays better when he plays freely.

"Am I allowed to cuss?" Winker asked Monday at All-Star media day. "The difference is I just don’t give a s--- anymore."

There are more first-time All-Stars than ever this year, accentuating the perspective gap between the players who have been here before and the players who have not. Mookie Betts, Jacob deGrom, José Altuve and Carlos Correa opted out to rest for the second half. 

Winker would rather be nowhere but here — maybe even if he weren't part of it.

Asked what he was most looking forward to about this week, he said, with surety: the wide-ranging exploits of Shohei Ohtani. When the Rockies' play-by-play announcer, Drew Goodman, greeted him at Monday’s media day, Winker recited Goodman's signature home-run call from memory: "Take a good look. You won't see it for long!"

He loves his sport, and he is committed to showering it with his love and showing his family what he has become.

"I don’t want my daughter to grow up seeing me as some stoic guy at work and somebody different at home," Winker said. "This is just me. This is what I do. I enjoy doing this s---. I love baseball. And I might hate baseball at times — because it can kick your ass — but that’s part of it. That’s all part of it. When that little girl grows up, I want her to see that this is how I did it. This is how I played the game."

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That’s why he’s crying all the time and hitting better than ever and inspiring his Cincinnati Reds teammates to a fun run toward contention for the second consecutive season.

"With Jesse, what you see is what you get," fellow Red and fellow All-Star starter Nick Castellanos said. "Sometimes, people think it’s different, annoying or whatever. But I just view it as a genuine person who’s loving."

Castellanos has also been an influence. Upon his midseason trade to the Cubs in 2019, he relearned how to enjoy playing baseball. His experience with the hapless Tigers had become a statistic-generating enterprise, nothing more. But Castellanos went on a tear at Wrigley Field, had a ball and brought that renewed vigor with him when he signed with the Reds that offseason.

Now, Winker and Castellanos have vaulted the Reds into an interesting position. At 48-42, they are the only National League team not in the West that has a real shot at a wild-card slot. They could also unseat the Brewers atop the Central, given that they just won three of four in Milwaukee to conclude the first half and that they will meet Milwaukee for three more games starting Friday.

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Winker is hitting .301 with 19 homers, impressive numbers rendered far more dominant with some winnowing. In 268 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers, Winker has hit .343, smashed 18 of his homers and amassed a 1.059 OPS. Only Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have been better.

This is not entirely new. Winker has always hit right-handers exceptionally well. For his career, he has hit .310 against them, with a .399 on-base percentage and .549 slugging percentage. Since his 2017 debut, only three major leaguers have faced as many righties and hit better: Mike Trout, Freddie Freeman and Juan Soto.

Winker has never hit lefties well, and he is not starting to this year. But his status as a platoon player shouldn’t distract from another truth: He has become baseball’s preeminent platoon player, perhaps the sport’s lone star specialist.

He grew up in a baseball family. His parents own a baseball training facility in Florida. One of his older brothers, Joe, played in the Dodgers’ organization. But it was always Jesse who had the potential to reach these heights. He signed for a million bucks when he was drafted out of high school nine years ago. Scouts envisaged All-Star Games in his future all those years ago. His parents predicted it. But for too long, he doubted it.

"I guess I was the last one to the party to believe that I could do this," Winker said. "This is me, believing in myself."

Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He most recently covered the Dodgers for three seasons for The Athletic. Previously, he spent five years covering the Angels and Dodgers for the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. More previously, he covered his alma mater, USC, for ESPNLosAngeles.com. The son of Brazilian immigrants, he grew up in the Southern California suburbs. Follow him on Twitter @pedromoura.