Several themes swirl around Diamondbacks at All-Star break

All-Star games are different in baseball. They don’t count. But they always matter.

It was true yesterday, when a generation of Americans grew up on sandlots and playgrounds, when trading cards were the currency of childhood. For most of us, the Little League All-Star game was our first real shot at glory.

It’s also true for the current generation, younger fans who gravitated to baseball during the pitch clock era and the Diamondbacks’ storybook romp to the World Series. Who wouldn’t feel happy for Ketel Marte, slotted as leadoff hitter by his grateful manager, fulfilling a mission he set after getting snubbed from last year’s All-Star Game? Who wouldn’t be proud to be represented by Torey Lovullo, who expanded his growing profile as one of the most likable leaders in any sport?

There was also a deep sense of gratitude for Christian Walker, the deserving All-Star who wasn’t in Arlington, Texas, because he was effectively snubbed by the system.

True story: A few days after Walker took a wrecking ball to Dodger Stadium, Lovullo was seen stalking and sulking about the visitor’s clubhouse in San Diego. A handful of people stopped to ask the same question:

What’s wrong, Skip?

One of the concerned players was Walker, and at that very moment, Lovullo confessed. He told his perpetually underrated first baseman that he was not a member of the National League All-Star team.

By the end of the conversation, do you know what he said to me?” Lovullo recalled on Monday. “This is what a true D-back, a true teammate says: He says, ‘You know what, Torey? At the end of the day, your respect, the respect of my coaches and the respect of my teammates is all that matters to me. As long as I have that, and you guys know what I am to this organization, I (couldn’t) care less if I make that team. That meant the world to me to hear …”

The Diamondbacks have a chance to reciprocate in the offseason. Walker will be 34 next season, risky territory for a power-hitting free agent. But Walker took over for a legend in Paul Goldschmidt and never flinched. He has delivered in every meaningful way, from power to leadership to defense. If you can’t reward him, then who?

Remember, this is a franchise that allowed Randy Johnson to win his 300th game in San Francisco; that allowed one of its most lovable players, Luis Gonzalez, to sign with the Dodgers; and that allowed Paul Goldschmidt to win a MVP in St. Louis. In their recent past, the Diamondbacks have generously rewarded marquee pitchers with no ties to Arizona. Many were disasters. It’s about time they stretch for one of their own.

Rewarding Walker becomes much easier with another profitable postseason romp, and Tuesday’s All-Star Game represents the last respite, the last summer fling, one final folly before baseball gets extremely serious. Will Marte parlay his All-Star berth into a legitimate MVP run? Will Corbin Carroll be more than just a platoon player in the final 65 games?  Will we ever see a pricey starting rotation in full? Will the injury-plagued Diamondbacks finally take flight in the second half, or will they crash like just another one-hit wonder?

Here’s hoping the 2024 All-Star Game isn’t as good as it gets for Marte, Lovullo and baseball fans in Arizona.

Follow @danbickley