From Delco baseball fields to Citizens Bank Park, Kevin McGonigle prepares to make MLB All-Star debut
Twenty-six players in this year's MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park are first-time All-Stars. Four of them are rookies, and one of them is from Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
The journey to being the youngest player in the game began in Aldan, Pennsylvania, for Kevin McGonigle, a shortstop for the Detroit Tigers. His mother, Tracy, recalled his little league games at Carr Field in the borough — and said Kevin had a real grasp for the game of baseball from a young age.
When it came to playing baseball, she said Kevin was a "perfectionist," adding that her son had wanted to play baseball long before he was even of age to sign up.
"He was young, 6, 5, I don't know. But going back that far ... he knew how to play this game!" Tracy McGonigle said.
Kevin spent his elementary school years at Saint Eugene School in Primos. He also played little league at the Dermond Recreational Area in Drexel Hill. It was there his eventual high school head coach started to take notice of his talent.
"I just thought to myself, like, he'd be, you know, our starting shortstop or one of our best players as a seventh grader, on our varsity team," Bonner-Prendie head baseball coach Steve DeBarberie said, noting that he lives steps away from Dermond. When Kevin decided to play for Bonner Baseball, he said he was "probably the happiest guy in the world."
DeBarberie said Kevin was a "hard-nosed player" and that he made everyone on the team better. He also helped the Friars win a Philadelphia Catholic League Championship as a junior.
Kevin had committed to Auburn to play baseball after graduating from Bonner-Prendie, but that all changed when the Detroit Tigers drafted him 37th overall in the 2023 MLB draft.
In March 2026, Kevin made the opening day roster after a couple years in the minor leagues. On opening day against the Padres in San Diego, he went 4-for-5.
"Oh I can't tell you ... the screaming ... the tears," Tracy McGonigle said, referring to her reactions after Kevin's monster debut at the plate.
McGonigle kept hitting. At this year's All-Star break, he has a .283 average, with eight home runs and 34 RBI.
The 21-year-old has also reached base 162 times, something that's only been done by someone his age or younger twice. Mike Trout, who hails from Millville, New Jersey, is one of them, along with late Tigers legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Al Kaline.
The rarified air of Kevin's early accomplishments led to the announcement that he was selected to the American League All-Star team earlier this month.
Kevin grew up a huge fan of Chase Utley and rooted for the Phillies. Now, his first game as a major leaguer in Philadelphia is set to be his biggest milestone yet.
He said he'd had this possibility in his mind the whole season and was "super nervous" going into a meeting where manager A.J. Hinch announced the team's All-Stars in the clubhouse.
"[I] always dreamed about going to a game just to watch [the] All-Star game at Philly, just to watch as a fan. But now I'm going to be able to watch and playing it," McGonigle said.
DeBarberie said he received about 50 texts as the news started to percolate. He himself could not wrap his head around the news when it came down — but still, he said he was "not surprised." He tells CBS News Philadelphia he will be at Tuesday night's All-Star Game, a game he believes will be very surreal.
"That's going to be the crazy part," he said. "Like looking down and seeing [Kevin] standing next to [Aaron] Judge and [Mike] Trout and all these guys. He grew up watching a lot of these guys and seeing them play and him being so young. That's going to be special."
Thirty family members will be at Citizens Bank Park cheering Kevin on Tuesday, Tracy said. The league supplied some of the tickets, but Kevin paid for the remaining ones, she added.
The support in the stands has spanned the entire season. Tracy and a group of friends, family and teachers more recently went to Yankee Stadium to watch Kevin play.
Earlier this season, hundreds from Delaware County — including family and friends — watched him play at Camden Yards against the Baltimore Orioles.
"We had close to 300 people there," Tracy said.
Tracy makes sure to watch her son wherever she is. Whether it's at work, at a wedding, or at home, she says she has her phone or television on the game.
A mother watching her son on as big of a stage as the All-Star Game can be remarkably surreal. But on opening day in San Diego, her other son, Ryan, tried to put the past four months in perspective.
"He said, 'But think about it, Mom, this is what we've always done ... We've always watched Kevin play baseball ... So, what else would we be doing?'" Tracy said.
The 2026 MLB All-Star Game begins at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. The game will be nationally televised on Fox, with the red carpet show being aired on MLB Network.