Fair to say Gary Matthews Jr. is having a better season than his dad. His surprising selection to the AL All-Star team makes him and his father, Cubs hitting coach Gary Matthews, the 14th father-son combination to make All-Star teams.
“This means more to me than I’ve ever been willing to let on,” said Matthews Jr., who entered the weekend hitting .331 with eight homers and 43 RBIs as Texas’ center fielder. “My dad accomplished so much in his career. To be able to accomplish something that he did is a tremendous honor.”
The Rangers are the seventh organization for the 31-year-old, who was with the Cubs in 2000-01. He got on the All-Star team because Toronto’s Alex Rios was scratched with an infected leg. Pretty impressive for a guy who started the year on the bench, moving into a starting job after Laynce Nix was demoted to Triple A.
