The St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan has earned his first selection to the MLB All-Star Game, becoming the team’s sole representative at this year’s event. Donovan’s journey to the All-Star Game is marked by his relentless dedication and hard work.
Donovan, 28, has constructed a personal training facility known as “The Barn” near his home in South Alabama. The facility is equipped with batting cages, video technology, and a turf infield to enhance his winter workouts. His efforts have focused on improving his hitting angles for more extra-base hits.
Cardinals coach Stubby Clapp assists Donovan during the season by feeding him grounders with a machine nicknamed “The Red Rocket.” During winter months, Donovan’s wife Aly helps operate the machine.
Selected as the 213th overall pick in the 2018 Draft, Donovan is now enjoying a standout year. He leads the National League with a .297 batting average and ranks high in several other categories including doubles and three-hit games.
Teammate Alec Burleson praised Donovan’s work ethic: “Everybody has bad games, but when he has a bad game, he’s working to try and figure it out harder than anybody I’ve seen.” Manager Oliver Marmol also commended Donovan’s consistency: “He’s not going to give away at-bats…he’s put together a really nice year.”
Donovan reflects on his career milestone: “There’s a couple of points in your career — hopefully I can play a long time — that I can look back on and enjoy once I am done playing.”
