2011 MLB All-Star Final Vote: 10 Players Who Were Snubbed from Fan Ballot

The All-Star rosters are set and MLB's Final Vote is in full swing. And one the hottest topics during the dog days of summer—when all other sports cease to exist—is the All-Star snubs.

Some of this year's biggest omissions have found their way onto the Final Vote selection. Paul Konerko was a massive oversight on the All-Star roster, but he's currently leading in the Final Vote ballot. Likewise, Alex Gordon's resurgent season was overlooked by manager Ron Washington and players, but he's still got a shot to make the AL squad.

But just like Konerko and Gordon were snubbed from the roster, plenty of deserving guys were snubbed from the Final Vote.

You could come up with a couple dozen, but I've limited it to 10 guys who deserved consideration but once again were overlooked.

Mark Teixeira

Ultimately done in by the number of Yankees already on the team, his low batting average and the existence of Adrian Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera in the American League, Mark Teixeira is having an excellent season in terms of production (25 HRs, 63 RBIs) but was overlooked as an All-Star.

Teixeira was probably kept off the "Final Vote" by the selection of fellow first baseman Paul Konerko to the ballot. 

Jhonny Peralta

Johnny Peralta has been screwed over by Asdrubal Cabrera for the second time in two years.

First, Cabrera took over the staring shortstop spot on the Cleveland Indians from Peralta (ultimately leading the Indians to deal Peralta to the Tigers) now he takes Peralta's roster spot on the AL squad.

Actually, Derek Jeter is the guy who doesn't deserve to be on the team but there's 0% chance he doesn't start an All-Star game before he retires.

As is the story of his career, Peralta was not-surprisingly overlooked again.  This time for a spot on the "Final Vote".

CC Sabathia

While a non-baseball person will look at Sabathia and say..."no way that guy's a professional athlete", he's been one of the best pitchers in baseball the last decade and nothing is changing this season.

Sabathia is stuck behind a handful of AL pitchers having career seasons and was the odd man out.  It also didn't help that Ron Washington selected his own CJ Wilson, an awful pick with far more deserving players out there.

Like Teixeira, the MLB and Ron Washington probably figured the Yankees were well enough represented and he used the "Final Vote" in favor of players from some smaller market teams.

Michael Pineda

Rookie Michael Pineda has been the Mariners best pitcher this year--yes even better than last year's AL Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez.

Pineda may end up getting some accolades after the season, but he's getting none mid-season.

He's sixth in the AL in ERA and posts a 1.01 WHIP, but it wasn't enough to land him a spot.  He's another guy stuck behind a half dozen lights-out AL starters and a teammate with a bigger name.

Andrew McCutchen

Andrew McCutchen got off to a slow start, but has heated up recently to put up some impressive numbers.  He seems to be one of the truest five tool players in the game and is a lot of fun to watch.

The fact that he didn't even get a whiff of the "Final Vote" is absurd.

The improving Pirates don't get the respect of higher profile teams--for instance those that have had a winning season in the last two decades--so McCutchen was probably left off the roster for this reason.

Shafted for the second straight year, McCutchen is a guy that will have several All-Star appearances in his future, but whether or not it's with the Pirates will be the question.

Craig Kimbrel

The Braves rookie closer is tied for the NL league lead in saves, but that didn't matter to the players or Bruce Bochy.

To add insult to injury, Craig Kimbrel's set-up man made the All-Star team, but he didn't even get a spot on the "Final Vote".

Kimbrel lost out thanks to a plethora of quality NL closers coupled with his rookie status. 

Kyle Farnsworth

If I asked most of you before the season if you thought Kyle Farnsworth would more likely be:

A - An All-Star snub who's six saves behind the AL lead OR

B - Working at a Target in Topeka, Kansas

I bet most of you would lean toward the red bullseye.  You'd be wrong.

Amazingly, the underachieving fireballer has seen a resurgence in Tampa Bay.

Farnsworth's career was pulled off the scrap heap by Joe Madden and it's paid dividends.  He deserves recognition for his turnaround and a spot on the "Final Vote" would have been a good start.

Brennan Boesch

After a brutal second half to 2010, Brennan Boesch once again is producing in the Tiger's everyday lineup and has been helping carry the likes of Ryan Raburn, Brandon Inge and Magglio Ordonez.  He's having a quietly solid season (.313 AVG, 12 HR, 40 RBI).

He's been as good or better than All-Stars selections Matt Joyce, Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Quentin in most offensive categories, but he's not even considered a snub this season by most of the national media.

Likely his inexperience, the Tigers being well represented and the mandatory team spots cost Boesch any consideration.

Danny Espinosa

Unlike future teammate Bryce Harper--who's bound to get elected to the Hall of Fame after his rookie season--Danny Espinosa doesn't get any respect.

Espinosa has as many home runs as any second baseman in baseball and is third in RBIs.

Despite a hot June, his awful batting average in May might have ultimately been his undoing in terms of getting "Final Vote" consideration. 

It also doesn't help that Rickie Weeks and Brandon Phillips play the same position as Espinosa.

Kevin Youkilis

Surprisingly only a two-time All-Star selection, Kevin Youkilis was snubbed for the second year in a row.  The players opted for Adrian Beltre over Youkilis.

In a bad season for AL third basemen, you could argue that Youkilis is having the best season of any of them but he might be oversadowed by his own star-studded team.

The shuffling around of Youk from first to third and his teams strong representation probably cost him in the considerations department, but it's no excuse for Ron Washington leaving him off the "Final Vote" in favor of an extra catcher.