Selecting MLB's 2014 Postseason All-Star Teams

The World Series is finished, and the dynastic San Francisco Giants completed their magical, inexplicable every-other-year trend by beating the almost-but-not-quite team of destiny Kansas City Royals in Game 7 by the score of 3-2 on Wednesday night.

Major League Baseball's postseason is now a thing of the past, but before we move on, let's recount some of the best individual Octobers by stacking up American and National League all-star teams based on playoff performances over the past month.

Some picks that follow will qualify as "no duh" choices, but there are a few surprises and maybe even one or two didn't-see-that-comings included. Because, hey, the 2014 postseason was bananas, so some all-star selections can be, too.

Catcher

American League

Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals

Perez was not particularly good with the bat (.207/.233/.276), perhaps because he was worn down by a long season. After starting 143 games behind the dish during the year, Perez added 15 more in the playoffs for a new record of 158 behind the dish, as Tod Palmer of the Kansas City Star notes.

"Salvy’s unbelievable behind the plate," shortstop Alcides Escobar said after Perez stayed in Game 7 despite getting hit by a pitch on the leg in the second inning, "and he likes to play every single day and every single game."

And he does have that winning hit down the left field line in the 12th inning of the AL Wild Card to get the Royals past the Oakland Athletics and started on their World Series run.

Besides, who else would you give it to out of the AL's incredibly un-all-star-worthy backstop crop?

National League

A.J. Ellis, Los Angeles Dodgers

Buster Posey could get this nod for the same reason that Perez does in the AL—he played the most and the longest, racking up 17 starts at catcher in October.

The difference, though, is that Ellis actually provided another catcher candidate with quality production, hitting .538/.647/.846. Don't blame L.A.'s National League Division Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Ellis.

Plus, Ellis had two extra-base knocks (a homer and a double) in 17 plate appearances, while Posey went to the plate a whopping 77 times and never hit a ball that got him past first base.

First Base

American League

Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals

Although Hosmer's production quieted after a boffo effort in the Wild Card Game and American League Division Series, he still finished the playoffs with an impressive .983 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, tied for the most hits with 20 and led all players with 12 RBI. Hard to argue with what might turn out to be the turning point in Hosmer's still young career.

National League

Matt Adams, St. Louis Cardinals

Matt Adams only played in nine games over two series, but only two players—neither one of them a first baseman—hit more than his three homers. Oh, and two of those came against only the two best left-handers in baseball, Madison Bumgarner in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series and Clayton Kershaw in what proved to be the memorable NLDS-clinching three-run shot in the seventh inning.

The Giants' Brandon Belt is worth mentioning, too, for his .397 on-base percentage, but Adams did more with fewer opportunities.

Second Base

American League

Omar Infante, Kansas City Royals

The pickings, they be slim at the keystone in the AL. It's not worth arguing over Infante, who was neither good nor bad but more just "was" on his way to the World Series while hitting .255/.310/.373 to lead all Junior Circuit second basemen in the three triple-slash categories.

National League

Kolten Wong, St. Louis Cardinals

Some would give this to Joe Panik for his all-around play throughout October. Although he hit only .233 with a .273 on-base percentage, he struck out just six times in 78 plate appearances and flashed some serious leather along the way to helping the Giants win it all—and doing so as a 23-year-old rookie.

But Wong, a fellow rook, displayed much more pop with seven extra-base knocks, including three homers (his NLCS Game 2 walk-off shot is above), and a .991 OPS that was fourth-best among all players who participated in at least two series.

Third Base

American League

Mike Moustakas, Kansas City Royals

Moose smashed five homers, the most in Royals franchise history and the most of any player this postseason. He also played some pretty great defense at the hot corner, making arguably the most memorable catch of the month with his leaning, crowd-surfing snag of a pop fly in the American League Championship Series.

National League

Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants

Among all the infield positions, this spot offered the most possibilities, as both Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals (.368/.400/.368) and Matt Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals (4 HR, 1.056 OPS) had themselves fantastic Octobers, too.

Sandoval, though, reached base safely in the first 12 games of this postseason and in 16 of 17 overall, was better than Carpenter in the NLCS and also has played his usual brilliant D (see up top). Oh, and he also set an MLB postseason record with 26 hits, as CSN Bay Area notes, in his quest to helping lead San Francisco to a title for the third time in his career.

Shortstop

American League

Alcides Escobar, Kansas City Royals

As K.C.'s leadoff man this month, Escobar led all shortstops in both leagues with eight runs scored. And while he only walked once in 70 trips to the plate—so much for fitting the top-of-the-order mold, right?—he did hit a solid .292.

Erick Aybar's 5-for-11 (.455) showing in the ALDS was good but just not enough to overtake Escobar.

National League

Brandon Crawford, San Francisco Giants

It's a similar scenario in the Senior Circuit, where Hanley Ramirez has a claim for his high-end production in one series (6-for-14), but Crawford has been steady on both sides of the ball throughout the playoffs.

Tipping this in his favor? That memorable grand slam off Edinson Volquez that broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning of the NL Wild Card Game—the first ever by a shortstop in the postseason. Hey, moments count just like stats do, and that one put the Giants on the path to yet another even-year championship.

Outfield

American League

Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals

Nelson Cruz, Baltimore Orioles

Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals

The two easy picks are Cain, who hit .333/.388/.417 with an October-best 13 runs scored and plenty of stellar D, and Cruz, whose 1.007 OPS was the highest among all AL players to advance to the Championship Series round.

After that? It's really a toss-up between the Tigers' J.D. Martinez, who had only three hits but all went for extra bags (including two big homers) in the small sample of three games, and Gordon, who didn't hit all that well (.204 average), but did manage an AL-high seven extra-base knocks. Plus, he gets extra points for the defense he played all October long.

National League

Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants

Jon Jay, St. Louis Cardinals

Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

Fortunately, the choices were pretty clear-cut in the NL by comparison.

Pence got on base in all 17 of his playoff contests and hit in 15 of them, Jay went a ridiculous 14-for-29 (.483) in his two rounds of work, and although Harper's stay was merely four games, he bashed three homers to lead all outfielders this month.

Starting Pitchers

American League

Yordano Ventura, RHP, Kansas City Royals

There really weren't a heck of a lot of choices in the Junior Circuit, as many of the big-name, star-caliber starters were either bad (Max Scherzer, James Shields, Chris Tillman) or eliminated early (David Price, Jered Weaver) or both (Jon Lester, C.J. Wilson).

National League

Madison Bumgarner, LHP, San Francisco Giants

If you can think of a postseason or World Series pitching record, Bumgarner probably broke it this month. Honestly, this pretty much says it all. Or maybe this. Perhaps even this.

The dude was simply unstoppable, a beer-guzzling, lineup-shredding one-man army who fittingly threw the first pitch and the last pitch for the Giants in October.

Simply put, without Bumgarner doing every last little bit he did, including coming on for a five-inning save—yes, save!—on two days' rest in Game 7 after hurling the first complete-game shutout in the Fall Classic since 2003 in Game 5, the Giants don't get a third title.

Relief Pitcher

American League

Wade Davis, RHP, Kansas City Royals

Hat tips to Greg Holland and Kelvin Herrera, the other two of the Royals' dynamite end-game trio, as well as Kevin Gausman and Andrew Miller of the Orioles.

But Davis is the selection for pitching in an October-high 12 games, allowing just one earned run on 10 baserunners in 14.1 innings and striking out 20—among all arms, only Bumgarner racked up more.

National League

Yusmeiro Petit, RHP, San Francisco Giants

Fellow Giants bullpenners Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo deserve recognition, and the Cardinals' Pat Neshek was pretty good too.

Petit, however, is the choice, for his ability to rise to the occasion as an indispensable long man for San Francisco.

"He's pitching on the biggest stage, being asked to do a really hard job, not knowing when you're going to pitch and then come in and be asked to flip the momentum," catcher Buster Posey said of the right-hander via Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News. "He's done it for us three times now in this postseason. He's been incredible."

Although Petit finally gave in a little during Game 6 of the World Series, he had allowed just four hits and four walks up to that point in 12 scoreless innings while whiffing 13 in his three outings, each of which was at least three innings and netted him a win.

Statistics are accurate through Oct. 29 and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.

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