Now that voting has closed for the All-Star Game, I figured why not do a post about who I voted for and why. I'll be sure to get my NL ballot up soon after this one.
First Base-This one was difficult for me. Prince Fielder and Paul Konerko are easily the top two hitters at the position, no one else is even really close right now. Konerko has the highest batting average, .320, but he only has the 5th most RBIs, which of course Fielder leads with 50, 11 more than Konerko. Ultimately, I went with Konerko. He's on a worse team and he has the higher fielding percentage. Overall he's been the best first baseman in the American League so far.
Second Base-I know I'm biased, but I honestly think Dustin Pedroia is the best second baseman in all of baseball. That being said, I couldn't bring myself to vote for him. He simply hasn't been good enough at the plate so far. I had to go with one of my least favorite players, Robinson Cano. He's the only 2nd baseman hitting over .300, he has 18 home runs (7 more than the next closest 2B) and he's first in slugging percentage, .579, the only 2B slugging over .460. While he's not great defensively, he's been a terror at the plate, and that earns him the nod. (I think I'm going to puke.)
Shortstop-We all know Jeter is going to get the starting spot, but I didn't vote for him. I voted for Alcides Escobar. He leads in batting average, he's second in slugging percentage, he's third in on base percentage, and he's tied for 9th in fielding percentage. If you can't tell, I base a lot of my All-Star votes on hitting, so that's why he got my vote.
Third Base-I went with Miguel Cabrera here. He's not leading in batting average for his position, Adrian Beltre is, but he's second. He does lead in on base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, RBIs, and while he's not a great fielder, he did change positions this year, and he's only committed 8 errors in 73 games. For that, he gets my vote.
Right Field-Mark Trumbo. Have you seen that guy hit? He's hitting the way everyone thought Pujols would be. He leads in batting average, slugging percentage (he's slugging .625, Jose Bautista who is 2nd is slugging .550, wow), and he's 2nd in RBIs and home runs. Simply put, he's an animal at the plate so far this year.
Center Field-Granted he's played like crap the last few weeks, but how could I not vote for Josh Hamilton? 24 home runs (1st) slugging percentage .647 (1st) batting average .316 (3rd) and 69 RBIs (1st, oh and who is 2nd in RBIs? Colby Rasmus, with 45. Yeah, he has 24 more RBIs than the next closest guy.) Hopefully he picks it up in the 2nd half of the season, but he definitely deserves to be in the All-Star Game.
Left Field-Oh left field, how I hate you. There is always one position it seems that is the hardest to choose. I poured over stats and came up with hardly anything. I went with Josh Willingham and I still don't feel good about it. He's hitting .272, which is tops for the position, and he's the only left fielder slugging over .500, but still, blech. Pick it up left fielders, you all are embarrassing yourselves.
Catcher-I really, really wanted to vote for Jared Saltalamacchia. He's got the most home runs, he's 3rd in doubles, but he's only hitting .255, so I just couldn't do it. Add in his shaky defense, and I had to turn my back on Salty. I don't feel good about it, but I try not to be a totally biased homer when it comes to All-Star voting. I ended up going with Joe Mauer. He's the only catcher hitting above .300, .321 to be exact, and I think he deserves it. I know he doesn't catch nearly as many games as he used to, but face it, he's still the best catcher in the AL.
Designated Hitter-David Ortiz, David Ortiz, David Ortiz. If I have to explain why, other than my Red Sox loyalty, you obviously don't watch enough baseball. He's been tearing the cover off the ball. Put it this way, his OPS is 1.020, that should say enough.
Starting Pitcher-This one was hard once I looked at the stats. David Price, Matt Harrison, and Yu Darvish all have 10 wins. There are 4 more guys who have 9 wins, and a handful who have 8. I finally settled on Chris Sale. He's 9-2, his ERA is 2.29, best among starters with a minimum of 80 innings pitched, WHIP is 0.95, 2nd only to Jered Weaver's 0.92, and he's only walked 23 batters this season, which is tied for 7th best in the league.
Write In Vote-Mike Trout. This kid is everything Bryce Harper is without the attitude. He and Trumbo are the future of the Angels. Again, if you don't know who Mike Trout is, you probably don't watch baseball. He deserves to be there.
So that was my AL ballot, and like I said, I'll get my NL one up soon. I realize at 3-4 guys I voted for probably won't be selected, but that's OK. I know most people are stat geeks like me and they just vote for their favorite player regardless of how well they've played so far.
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