It’s July, and that means another All-Star Game, one which—we might as well get this out of the way now—won’t be as exciting as those wonderful old All-Star Games when important things happened, like Ted Williams breaking his elbow and Dizzy Dean breaking a toe (Williams said he was never the same hitter; Dean destroyed his arm with altered mechanics) and Ray Fosse getting run over because damn it, Pete Rose just had to win an exhibition game.
(It is at times like these that I like to recall Mickey Mantle’s immortal words on the subject of Rose: “If I had played my career hitting singles like Pete, I’d wear a dress.”)
Sure, I sound cynical, but it seems to me that in recent years that the thing folks like best about the All-Star Game is complaining about it. They complain about who is on the roster and who is off, the size of the rosters, the way the managers use the rosters, and the way that Baseball tried to make an exhibition important by adding the non-sequitur that is a postseason punishment to the league that loses.
As we often do at this time, we asked our staff to give us their own All-Star ballots. Below we present 15 lineup cards for you to compare to the official versions that will be released on Sunday. When last MLB clued us in, the leading vote-getters at each position looked like this:
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AL |
NL |
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C |
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3B |
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SS |
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OF |
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OF |
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OF |
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DH |
— |
As you would expect, our ballots diverge from those of the unschooled masses; there is nary a Martin, Jeter, or Polanco in sight. There are also some large swaths of agreement. However, even within our own ranks there are areas of disagreement, particularly in the matter of who should start the games (Baseball appoints these guys, but we cast our votes anyway) and who deserved the third outfield spot in each league, since there is no clear choice in either circuit:
We preferred Justin Verlander to start the game for the American League over Jered Weaver by a vote of 8-7. No other starting pitcher was named. Ben Zobrist out-poled Robinson Cano for the AL keystone spot 9-6. Dustin Pedroia was dissed. In the Junior Circuit outfield, Curtis Granderson and Jose Baustista appeared on every ballot, but the third spot was split among Alex Gordon (five votes), Jacoby Ellsbury (three), Brett Gardner (two), Matt Joyce (two), Brennan Boesch, Adam Jones, and Carlos Quentin (one each).
In the National League outfield voting, Matt Kemp and Ryan Braun appeared on every ballot, but thereafter there was a similar chaos, with choices for the third spot scattered to Lance Berkman (five votes) , Andrew McCutchen (five), Justin Upton (four), and Jay Bruce (one).
The All-Star rosters are a tremendous source for debate, and I suppose that anything that gets people talking about the game is good (unless it’s Frank McCourt), and as an experiment in crowd sourcing (however imperfect due to, among other things, unbalanced attendance) it has its value as a snapshot of who believed what about which players at a given moment in time. Here is our snapshot, one we will no doubt continue to debate with you right through our annual in-game chat on July 12—Steven Goldman
- R.J. Anderson
- Craig Brown
- Derek Carty
- Charles Dahan
- Corey Dawkins
- Jeff Euston
- Ken Funck
- Steve Goldman
- Kevin Goldstein
- Larry Granillo
- Joe Hamrahi
- Ben Lindbergh
- Rob McQuown
- Ben Murphy
- John Perrotto
- Dan Turkenkopf
R.J. Anderson
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
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Ben Zobrist |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
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SS |
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OF |
Alex Gordon |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Andrew McCutchen |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Matt Kemp |
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DH |
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SP |
Jered Weaver |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Miguel Cabrera |
Prince Fielder |
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Ben Zobrist |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Alex Gordon |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Justin Upton |
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DH |
David Ortiz |
— |
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SP |
Justin Verlander |
Roy Halladay |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Prince Fielder |
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Ben Zobrist |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Jacoby Ellsbury |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Andrew McCutchen |
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SP |
Justin Verlander |
Roy Halladay |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Prince Fielder |
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Robinson Cano |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Troy Tulowitzki |
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OF |
Adam Jones |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Jay Bruce |
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SP |
Jered Weaver |
Roy Halladay |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Prince Fielder |
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Robinson Cano |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Brennan Boesch |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Lance Berkman |
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SP |
Justin Verlander |
Roy Halladay |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Miguel Cabrera |
Prince Fielder |
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Robinson Cano |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
Aramis Ramirez |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Matt Joyce |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Lance Berkman |
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SP |
Justin Verlander |
Roy Halladay |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Prince Fielder |
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Ben Zobrist |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Kevin Youkilis |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Alex Gordon |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Lance Berkman |
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DH |
David Ortiz |
— |
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SP |
Jered Weaver |
Roy Halladay |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Prince Fielder |
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Ben Zobrist |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Alex Gordon |
Andrew McCutchen |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Ryan Braun |
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DH |
Miguel Cabrera |
— |
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SP |
Jered Weaver |
Roy Halladay |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Miguel Cabrera |
Prince Fielder |
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Robinson Cano |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Kevin Youkilis |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Carlos Quentin |
Lance Berkman |
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SP |
Justin Verlander |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Joey Votto |
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Robinson Cano |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Matt Joyce |
Justin Upton |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Ryan Braun |
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DH |
David Ortiz |
Prince Fielder |
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SP |
Jered Weaver |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Miguel Cabrera |
Prince Fielder |
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Robinson Cano |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
Aramis Ramirez |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jacoby Ellsbury |
Lance Berkman |
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SP |
Justin Verlander |
Cliff Lee |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Prince Fielder |
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Ben Zobrist |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Brett Gardner |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Justin Upton |
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SP |
Jered Weaver |
Roy Halladay |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Miguel Cabrera |
Joey Votto |
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Robinson Cano |
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3B |
Kevin Youkilis |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Alex Gordon |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Andrew McCutchen |
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SP |
Jered Weaver |
Roy Halladay |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Joey Votto |
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Ben Zobrist |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Alex Gordon |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Andrew McCutchen |
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DH |
Miguel Cabrera |
Lance Berkman |
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SP |
Jered Weaver |
Clayton Kershaw |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Prince Fielder |
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Ben Zobrist |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Jacoby Ellsbury |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Andrew McCutchen |
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DH |
David Ortiz |
— |
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SP |
Justin Verlander |
Clayton Kershaw |
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AL |
NL |
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C |
Alex Avila |
Brian McCann |
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Adrian Gonzalez |
Joey Votto |
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Ben Zobrist |
Rickie Weeks |
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3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
Chase Headley |
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SS |
Asdrubal Cabrera |
Jose Reyes |
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OF |
Brett Gardner |
Ryan Braun |
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OF |
Curtis Granderson |
Matt Kemp |
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OF |
Jose Bautista |
Justin Upton |
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DH |
Miguel Cabrera |
Prince Fielder |
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SP |
Justin Verlander |
Roy Halladay |
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AL/NL
C: Alfaro/Alfaro
1B: Gonzalez/Fielder
2B: Cano/Weeks
SS: Cabrera/Reyes
3B: Rodriguez/Headley
OF:Granderson/Braun
OF Ellsbury/Kemp
OF: Bautista/Upton
DH: Ortiz/Berkman
P: Dickey/Dickey
Who Am I?
I have just a bit less WARP than Justin Upton in over 100 fewer PA and a TAv six points higher than Ryan Braun. If I qualified for the batting title, I'd be 4th in baseball in wOBA this year. Nothing new, since I'm 7th in wOBA since entering the majors in 2004, just a point behind both Miguel Cabrera and one of my current teammates. And I'm having the second best season of my career, a couple minor injuries aside, which will probably mean by season's end I'm the fifth best hitter in the last eight years.
Sadly, I'm underrated everywhere. Despite being the 7th best hitter in baseball the last 7.5 years, I was drafted, on average with the 18.6th pick in ESPN fantasy leagues this season. And the hometown fans under-appreciate me because I'm not a certain someone I hit behind. I'm underrated at BP, too, where I didn't get a single vote.
Maybe in some of the stats you mentioned, but clearly not in others.
Jhonny Peralta has him beat in BA (meaningless though), OBP, SLG, and OPS. He's up in wOBA and RC+. He's tied in HRs and in WAR (fangraphs).
And you can't really use defense since Jhonny is tied or better in pretty much all defensive rankings.
Would like to know why Cabrera is getting all the love at SS in the AL.
I love Kershaw. But why on earth would anyone except Halladay start the ASG? I mean, no one on here would actually pick Kershaw over Doc to pitch Game 7 of the WS, would they?
So, I looked up the stats listed on BP, and for some reason, they had Halladay listed at 15th in WARP among pitchers and 6th in PVORP (prior to yesterday's game), despite leading the league in just about every advanced pitching indicator (SIERA, xFIP, FIP, etc) along with, of course, innings pitched. PVORP even has Derek Lowe first in the majors, which makes no sense whatsoever...does anyone have an explanation for this? What's going on over there?
With that being said, why is there no love for Jurrjens? He has the lowest ERA in the major after last night and is tied for most wins. Yeah he's not the K's pitch like Halladay and Kershaw, but you can't argue with the results.
I'm not saying that he should be the one to start the ASG, but just wanted to know why he wasn't even considered as the starter by anyone. Any thoughts?
Really? Where did that rule come from?
That is your opinion, not a rule.
I'd say pitchers is even more about the first half.
I guess that is my "opinion" but it's the opinion of most people actually because it's just how things are typically done in All-Star games.
The all-star game is a great honor. It is a measure by which we rate the greatness of players. It seems a shame to use only the first half of a season to decide who deserves such an honor. It is also more in the spirit of an all-star game to see the best vs. the best, rather than the hot vs. the hot.
Danny Espinoza over Weeks ??? Puhleese!!
Why anyone should expect the public, who make Lady Gaga a superstar and "Meet The Fockers" a movie franchise, not ot mention electing certain nameless political leaders, should be expected to show intelligence in vting for an All-Star team is beyond me.
That's my 4th of July address.