Dodgers Analysis: From Homemade Bats to the Show–Pages Needs Your Votes!

4 minutes read

DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 24: Andy Pages #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a single against the Colorado Rockies in the fifth inning at Coors Field on June 24, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

📣 VOTE ANDY PAGES FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME

UPDATE: Voting ends TODAY, June 26 — Let’s send our guy to Atlanta.

Dodger fans — if you believe in hard work, heart, and homegrown hustle, it’s time to cast your vote. This is your last chance to help Andy Pages, our breakout rookie center fielder, reach the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

He’s not a household name (yet). He’s not the guy with the biggest endorsements. But what he is, is a story of sacrifice, resilience, and raw talent — the kind of story that reminds us why we love this game in the first place.

🌍 From Homemade Bats in Cuba to the Lights of Dodger Stadium

Before his Major League debut, Pages stood in the home dugout at Chavez Ravine gripping a borrowed bat — a José Abreu model that had been passed to him through Miguel Vargas, his closest friend on the team before the trade. He stared out at the field, realizing a dream he’d chased since childhood.

Back home in Cuba, Pages didn’t grow up with premium gear. His first bats weren’t made by Louisville Slugger or Marucci — they were made by his father, a carpenter who patched up boats for a living. “His main job was fixing up boats and stuff like that,” Pages recalled in Spanish. “But he had friends that would specialize in wood. So they would give him some wood and they would make me some bats.”

Those bats were basic, but they were enough to spark a lifelong love for baseball. Though he never played in the Cuban National Series, he quickly became one of the island’s most promising young talents. At just 16 years old, he made a decision that would change his life: he would leave Cuba in hopes of being signed by a Major League team.

“I was just young and really wasn’t thinking about anything else,” he said. “All I was thinking about was, ‘Okay, I’m going to leave Cuba and I’m going to make it,’ but I could’ve never imagined every obstacle that was going to be thrown my way.”

Even with financial support that many defectors don’t have, the road was still brutal. He waited eight months for a contract and ended up spending seven years without seeing his family. When he finally returned to Cuba this past winter, it was a long-overdue reunion. “When I went back to Cuba, I took [my dad] a few of my bats,” Pages said. “That was really cool.”

But the hardest moment came the day he left. “I’ve gone through a lot of things in my life,” he said. “But when I left Cuba, from the moment I told him I was leaving, he just started crying. It was the first time I ever saw him cry.”

Even now, communication is unpredictable. “There are times we can talk every day,” Pages said. “But then there are stretches where, because of the situation in Cuba—electricity, internet—I can’t reach him for a week.”

So when Pages crushed a three-run go-ahead home run on Father’s Day this year, it wasn’t just another clutch swing. It was a tribute. “That home run was for my father,” he said after the game. “I haven’t seen him in a long time, and I dedicated that swing to him.”

💪 Turning the Doubters Into Believers

Let’s not forget — Pages wasn’t even expected to make the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster. And by the end of April, he was batting .146. His defense was shaky. The critics were circling.

But the Dodgers believed in him. And so did Pages. “I trust my work. I trust myself. And I try to give my best every single day,” he said recently. That trust has paid off in a major way.

Since mid-April, Pages has transformed into one of the best outfielders in the National League:

.292 AVG / .330 OBP / .512 SLG
16 home runs
52 RBIs
135 wRC+
3.0 WAR, trailing only Ohtani and Will Smith on the Dodgers

He ranks top five in the league in hits, home runs, batting average, and RBI among NL outfielders. Teoscar Hernández — Pages’ mentor and another All-Star hopeful — currently ranks second in NL outfield voting, even though Pages has a higher WAR. And Pages? He’s stuck at seventh.

🧤 Gold Glove-Worthy Defense

And the glove? Once a concern, now a weapon. Pages ranks:

96th percentile in Outs Above Average
97th percentile in Arm Strength
Top 10 in Defensive Runs Saved
Top 10 in Outfield OAA

He’s gone from a defensive liability to a legit Gold Glove candidate — all through sheer determination.

⚾ Big Moments. Bigger Maturity.

He’s not just filling up box scores. He’s coming through when it matters most.

In a fiery June series against the Padres — with tensions boiling over and Shohei Ohtani getting plunked — it was Pages who responded with a 4-for-4 performance, two home runs, and three RBIs in a comeback win. And after the game? He stayed humble. “Obviously it would be a great accomplishment,” he said of All-Star consideration. “Being an All-Star is a big thing for any player who wants to be there. But like I always say — if it happens, great. If not, it’s okay too.”

But manager Dave Roberts didn’t hesitate. When asked if Pages was playing at an All-Star level, he replied: “He’s playing like it right now. That’s up to the fans, but he’s playing All-Star baseball, yes.”

⏳ He’s This Close — But He Needs Us

The current ballot update has Andy Pages in seventh place among NL outfielders. He trails sixth-place Corbin Carroll by about 50,000 votes. Only the top six move on to the next phase.

Fifty thousand votes — that’s the difference between obscurity and a national spotlight. Between honoring a remarkable journey and letting it go unnoticed.

This isn’t about popularity. It’s about performance. It’s about heart. It’s about recognizing excellence when we see it — even if the rest of the country hasn’t caught on yet.

📣 Vote for the Kid with Homemade Bats

If you believe in players who earn it…
If you believe in stories that matter…
If you believe in honoring heart over hype…

Then you know what to do.

🔗 VOTE NOW at MLB.com/vote
🗳️ Deadline: TODAY, June 26

Text your friends. Post on social. Wake up the group chat.

Let’s send Andy Pages to Atlanta.

Because he’s already given us the story.

Now it’s our turn to give him the stage.

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