2011 MLB All-Star Rosters: Which All-Stars Were Surprise Additions?

The 2011 MLB All-Star rosters were announced today and, of course, everyone has their own gripes. We have snubs across the board as surprise players were rewarded with a spot in this year’s hallowed Midsummer Classic.

We’ll get to both leagues, but first we’ll start with the American League roster, per MLB.com:

"

Starters

Pos.    Player

C         Alex Avila, DET

1B       Adrian Gonzalez, BOS

2B       Robinson Cano, NYY

3B       Alex Rodriguez, NYY

SS       Derek Jeter, NYY

OF       Jose Bautista, TOR

OF       Curtis Granderson, NYY

OF       Josh Hamilton, TEX

DH      David Ortiz, BOS

Pitchers

Pos .     Player

P          Josh Beckett, BOS

P          Aaron Crow, KC

P          Gio Gonzalez, OAK

P          Felix Hernandez, SEA

P          Brandon League, SEA

P          Chris Perez, CLE

P          David Price, TB

P          Mariano Rivera, NYY

P          James Shields, TB

P          Jose Valverde, DET

P          Justin Verlander, DET

P          Jered Weaver, LAA

P          C.J. Wilson, TEX

 

Reserves

Pos.     Player

C         Russell Martin, NYY

C         Matt Wieters, BAL

1B       Miguel Cabrera, DET

2B       Howard Kendrick, LAA

3B       Adrian Beltre, TEX

SS       Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE

OF       Michael Cuddyer, MIN

OF       Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS

OF       Matt Joyce, TB

OF       Carlos Quentin, CWS

DH       Michael Young, TEX

 

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Anybody notice something seriously wrong in that pitcher section?

Yeah, the excruciating void of C.C. Sabathia. He is tied with Detroit’s Justin Verlander with an AL-leading 11 victories compared to C.J. Wilson’s eight. The six more strikeouts and .02 WHIP over Wilson is a bit of a wash, but he is also closer to the solid 3.00 ERA.

The inclusion of Wilson over Sabathia is the biggest surprise—then again, it shouldn’t be considering Ron Washington is the manager of the AL squad. Favoritism, understood.

Many might be appalled by Jeter starting, but he is still one of the most popular players in the game. If we’re going to complain about him, we should also complain about Josh Hamilton who has been hurt this season.

Asdrubal Cabrera clearly deserves to be starting though, Jeter fans.

Alex Avila made a strong push thanks to Detroit Tigers fans. Way to let Russell Martin down, Yanks fans. Both men deserve to start and Detroit fans won out.

Victor Martinez, who is still an eligible catcher, deserves the third spot over Matt Wieters. Adam Jones, who is batting .288 with 13 HR and 46 RBI should be representing Baltimore instead of Wieters.

Matt Joyce is enjoying a career year and it is nice to see his name on the list. It’s a shocker considering he does not receive the publicity he deserves. The man is hitting .302 with 11 HR and 40 RBI. I thought Johnny Damon would receive his votes given the tear he’s been on, so it’s nice to see this cog in the Rays’ machine receive the recognition he deserves.

All in all, this is a fair roster. Mark Teixiera being left off is quite the shocker, but I expect him to creep his way into the game

And now, on to the National League:

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Starters

Pos.     Player

C         Brian McCann, ATL

1B       Prince Fielder, MIL

2B       Rickie Weeks, MIL

3B       Placido Polanco, PHI

SS       Jose Reyes, NYM

OF       Ryan Braun, MIL

OF       Lance Berkman, STL

OF       Matt Kemp, LAD

Pitchers

Pos.      Player

P          Heath Bell, SD

P          Matt Cain, SF

P          Tyler Clippard, WSH

P          Roy Halladay, PHI

P          Cole Hamels, PHI

P          Joel Hanrahan, PIT

P          Jair Jurrjens, ATL

P          Clayton Kershaw, LAD

P          Cliff Lee, PHI

P          Tim Lincecum, SF

P          Jonny Venters, ATL

P          Ryan Vogelsong, SF

P          Brian Wilson, SF

Reserves

Pos.     Player

C         Yadier Molina, STL

1B       Gaby Sanchez, FLA

1B       Joey Votto, CIN

2B       Brandon Phillips, CIN

3B       Chipper Jones, ATL

SS       Starlin Castro, CHC

SS       Troy Tulowitzki, COL

OF       Carlos Beltran, NYM

OF       Jay Bruce, CIN

OF       Matt Holliday, STL

OF       Hunter Pence, HOU

OF       Justin Upton, ARI

 

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I’m shocked to see Chipper Jones’ name on the reserves list. This is going to make for an amazing story leading into the Classic as this is clearly a show of respect for the seasoned veteran. Not many would deserve an honor like this, but Chipper certainly does.

Easily the biggest shock here is Gaby Sanchez over Ryan Howard. We all like to see some young studs make the team, but we also want to see our favorite, or even most hated, superstars entertain us on Monday night. Congrats to Gaby, but I don’t want to watch him.

Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes are having great individual seasons, which is an absolute stunner in itself. Even if this is a career year, I definitely thought Troy Tulowitzki would have passed him to start.

Tulo is the best short stop in the league and may even be the best player when healthy. I have absolutely zero respect for the soft Reyes, New York should trade him while his stock is high.

Chicks clearly dig the long ball as Jay Bruce earned a spot over Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen has a superior average and on base percentage, while nearly equaling Bruce’s slugging percentage.

The Pirates’ superstar is hitting .289 with a .390 OBP, .493 SLG and .884 OPS compared to Cincinnati’s slugger hitting .267 with a .335 OBP, .495 SLG and .830 OPS. It’s obviously the six more home runs that pushed him over the edge.

NL fans will have to hope he can connect for a game-changing bomb as they lose McCutchen’s spark on the base paths.

A host of pitchers could have been selected over San Francisco’s Ryan Vogelsong. Again, we see the beauty of a manager picking somebody from his own staff. Vogelsong is 6-1 this season with one complete game shutout, 63 strikeouts, 2.09 ERA and 1.15 WHIP.

Obviously excellent numbers, but would he have made the team if his manager Bruce Bochy wasn’t leading the NL squad? Most definitely not.