The rosters have been revealed for the MLB All-Star game and the squads are riddled with players who want people to get MLB tickets to watch them play. Here I examine the picks for the American League starting roster. Note: All figures are from the 8th of July.
Catcher – Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins: With a .326 batting average, Mauer tops the league. He’s one of the league’s greatest pitchers.
First Foundation – Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox: With this pick, you can’t complain. Both Justin Morneau and Jason Giambi are having strong years, but Youkilis has .300 hitting and nice strength figures.
Second Base – Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox: I really can’t help this collection. Ian Kinsler is having a wonderful Rangers season. He bats more than .320 and has 13 home runs and 50 RBIs. The most impressive statistic is that in only 83 games, Kinsler has earned 74 runs. A strong year for Pedroia, but he’s not at the same stage as Kinsler.
Shortstop – Derek Jeter, New York Yankees: Objectively, Michael Young is having a marginally stronger season, but the differentiation is almost insignificant. I identify with the reputation-based Jeter selection and the fact that he contributes to the clubhouse too many intangibles.
Third Base – Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees: A-Rod was, and deserves to be, the top vote-getter. He has top tier statistics and he skipped the season by a month. He’s the greatest performer in big league baseball, filled any group, even stolen bases. Not because the Yankees need assistance selling MLB seats, so in order to watch this guy play the football, people come to the field.
Hamilton is having a fantastic year and would have been my first option for an outfield spot. Outfield – Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers: He’s been an RBI machine, partially due to the output of Kinsler, so far driving in 85 races.
Outfield – Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox: That was a list of reputations. Manny had a good year, but he didn’t have a great year than either Grady Sizemore or Milton Bradley.
Outfield – Ichiro, Seattle Mariners: The average for Ichiro is a little down, but he’s got 34 steals and plays amazing defense. Again, I will offer a nod to Grady Sizemore over him, but you can’t argue about getting started with Ichiro.
David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox: Designated Hitter: Another pick for prestige. With an accident, Ortiz has lost a large part of the season and is not likely to appear in the All-Star Game. He’s one of the league’s most famous stars, and with good cause, but this season he doesn’t merit a starting nod. The options here may be Carlos Quentin, Milton Bradley and Grady Sizemore.
Both of these guys qualify to join the All-Star squad and leave baseball fans clamoring for MLB tickets sometimes.