All-Star Voting: Lay Off the Fans

Contributor Written on July 02, 2009

NEW YORK - JUNE 23: Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after defeating the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 23, 2009 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)

(Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)

It's that time of year when we all get to read about how stupid the fans are. "They shouldn't be deciding who starts the All-Star Game!" I read that over and over again on blogs and on various baseball sites. And as much as I enjoy calling people names, I really don't think the voters are that far off—at least not this year. Let's take a look, shall we? By the way, my projected starters here are based off of the last released fan voting data.

CATCHER
Who's gonna win? AL: Joe Mauer, NL: Yadier Molina
Who should win? AL: Joe Mauer, NL: Brian McCann

Mauer isn't even debatable. The guy is hitting close to .400. His OBP is .467 and SLG is .667. He's only made one error. And those sideburns! He's so dreamy...

On the NL side, McCann has much better offensive numbers than Molina Brother No. 64. But Yadier just might be the best defensive catcher in the game today. His numbers are good for a catcher and I have no problem with him starting.

FIRST BASE
Who's gonna win? AL: Kevin Youkilis, NL: Albert Pujols
Who should win? AL: Kevin Youkilis, NL: Albert Pujols

Youkilis and Justin Morneau are a toss up. I went with Youk due to his 50-point lead over Morneau in OBP. He is "The Greek God of Walks," after all. Both guys would be great starters for the AL, but I think they fans got it right. Props to our boy Miguel Cabrera, and especially surprising Russell Branyan on having great seasons so far, too.

In the NL, Pujols is in a league of his own. He's the best hitter I've ever seen and should have the MVP Award named after him.

SECOND BASE
Who's gonna win? AL: Ian Kinsler/Dustin Pedroia, NL: Chase Utley
Who should win? AL: Aaron Hill, NL: Chase Utley

The AL race was too close to call at the last reports I saw. Kinsler has a slight lead, but I'm sure Red Sox Nation will pull their boy over the top in one of only two of this year's representitives I'd have a problem with (I'll get to the other one later). Kinsler is my second choice next to Aaron Hill, who is quietly putting up a great season for the Blue Jays, hitting .301, 19, 56, .341, .504. It's a shame no one knows who he is.

The NL vote is much easier with the fans getting it right with Philly's Utley. Chase is having his usual solid year over .300 with 17 homers and a .560 SLG.

THIRD BASE
Who's gonna win? AL: Evan Longoria, NL: David Wright
Who should win? AL: Evan Longoria, NL: David Wright

Apologies to all my 13-year-old female readers, but Brandon Inge's career year isn't enough to displace Longoria's solid 2009 campaign, thus far. He's right around the .300 mark with 16 homers, a .377 OBP, and is slugging .558 while making only 8 errors. Evan's come a long way from me watching him play against the Toledo Mud Hens in last year's hope opener.

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written on July 02, 2009 Sports

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