Critiquing the 2009 MLB All-Star Selections: AL Edition

With the all star rosters announced, I’m going to break it down position by position for the AL and give you my take on whether the fans got it right, or if I have a problem with it.

American League

Catcher: Joe Mauer

No problem with Joe Mauer, who I think is the best player in the American League. Mauer is more than deserving of the starting catcher spot. Mauer is batting .390 with 14 home runs and was the best choice.

Victor Martinez is having a nice year, but Joe Mauer is having what may be a historic year with his .390 batting average.

First base: Mark Teixeira

This one I did have a problem with, and this is the curse of the fan voting. Teixeira is having a great year, but for two reasons he shouldn’t be starting. No. 1, he didn’t get it going until A-Rod returned from his injury. The other is that Justin Morneau and Kevin Youkilis were both having better years.  

While both are tied with 20 homers, Morneau is batting .320 compared to Teixeira’s .278, and Youkilis’ .306. I would’ve given the start to Morneau, but the fan voting denies the Twins’ first baseman the start.

The snub would have to be Carlos Pena, which shocked me when Joe Maddon did not take his own first baseman.

Second base: Dustin Pedroia

This is another one that bothers me a little bit. While Pedroia is the reigning A.L. MVP, I don’t think he deserved to be in this game—at least not starting. Pedroia is far from his MVP form—he’s only batting .290 with 3 homers and 36 RBI. Those aren’t bad numbers, but two second basemen have simply out-played him.

Aaron Hill should’ve got the start, but because he plays for a small market team, and the all star game is up to fan voting, he didn't get the nod. Hill’s stats more than hold up when compared to Pedroia’s; Hill is batting .299 with 20 homers and 59 RBI.

Ian Kinsler is the huge snub—he wasn’t even picked as a reserve, but he may be the last player selected. Kinsler is batting .256 with 19 homers and 51 RBI. You be the judge; personally I don’t believe Pedroia deserved to be in the game due to Kinsler and Hill being better.

Third base: Evan Longoria

No problem here—it seems that A-Rod has passed the torch to Evan Longoria. Get used to seeing this guy starting at third for a long time to come. With a stat line of .293 with 16 homers and 63 RBI, Longoria is absolutely the best third baseman in baseball, period.

Shortstop: Derek Jeter

While the future Hall of Famer is an obvious pick, it wasn’t the absolute best pick. Jeter has a solid .308 batting average, and the pop has been there with his nine homers.

However, Jason Bartlett is the biggest surprise of the year, batting an astounding .362. He also edges out Jeter in the RBI category—Jeter’s 32 to Bartlett’s 37, and in on base percentage, Jeter’s .384 to Bartlett’s .402.

And by the way, Bartlett has played in fewer games. Not to mention Bartlett’s defense, which has been outstanding. Bartlett should be your starting shortstop, but like Morneau he really got the snub because Yankee fans stuffed the ballots.

Outfielders: Jason Bay, Ichiro Suzuki, Josh Hamilton

Bay and Suzuki definitely deserved to be on the team; however, Josh Hamilton has done nothing this year. Hamilton is a great story, he may be the best athlete in the league, he put on a great show in last season’s home run derby, but Hamilton has only played 35 games this season. Hamilton’s stats in those 35 games aren’t even all star material—batting .240 with six homers and 24 RBI.

I’m not even sure if Hamilton will be healthy enough to play in the game. I would give the nod to Torii Hunter, Carl Crawford, or Adam Jones who are all batting over .300, or Curtis Granderson, who has become a serious home run threat. Unfortunately, though, you can only play three outfielders at once, and the A.L is stacked with quality outfielders.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Hamilton, but he didn’t earn it.

Pitchers: Who should start?

To me it comes down to three guys—Greinke, Halladay, and Hernandez, with Verlander just short. I was leaning towards Greinke due to his 2.00 ERA, but I thought of it this way, if you have one game you need to win, who do you throw out there?

The answer would be Doc Halladay.

Halladay’s stats are on par with Greinke—both have 10 wins. Greinke has a better ERA, but I have to go with Halladay due to the fact that I believe that he’ll give you two very solid innings, and he’ll look un-hittable when he takes the mound. Greinke has never been an all star, and I just think Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball right now.

However, you can go either way, and I would not have a problem with it. The A.L pitching is quite deep this year.