MLB All-Star rosters & FDH version

By Rick Morris

Injustices abound every year when the Major League Baseball All-Star Game rosters are unveiled. Part of this sad reality relates to the fact that the unwashed masses often cast wildly uneducated votes (albeit not nearly to the extent of my youth in the 1980s). Part of it relates to the asinine rule that each team must be represented on the All-Star team (if a team has nobody performing up to the level of a “star” but they have a player on the All-Star team, then it isn’t really an All-Star team, is it?). And part of it has to do with managerial politics as the league skippers reserve as many spots as possible for their own teams so as to keep the peace in the clubhouse. No offense to Joe Torre, whom I admire notwithstanding his tenure at the helm of the loathed Yankees, but there were years during the team’s last big run when I half expected him to reach down to the level of Chad Curtis when filling out the AL team.

This year, I will list the FDH choices first, so that the deserving players truly stand out in this analysis. Players in all caps are those that should be starting. The players broken out at each position are the ones that should be on the roster if there were no insipid “every team must be represented rule.” To yield to the present reality in that regard, this sign (^) represents the players that would be added to the roster to represent every team and it also represents those who would be dropped from the roster. This sign (*) represents players who should be on the roster if not for injury and again, those who should be dropped to make way for them.

AL

C: AVILA, V Martinez, Pierzynski

1B: A GONZALEZ, M Cabrera, Konerko, Lind

2B: CANO, M Young

SS: A CABRERA, Peralta, Hardy

3B: A RODRIGUEZ

OF: BAUTISTA, GRANDERSON, AD JONES, Ellsbury, Boesch

DH: D ORTIZ

SP: VERLANDER, Weaver, Shields, Haren, Beckett, Pineda, Humber, Ogando, Romero, G Gonzalez, ^ B Colon, ^Hellickson

RP: Rivera, Farnsworth

^ A Crow

^ S Baker

NL

C: MCCANN, M Montero, *^R Hernandez

1B: FIELDER, Votto, Morse

2B: R WEEKS, *^B Phillips

SS: J REYES, Tulowitzki

3B: WIGGINTON, A Ramirez

OF: KEMP, BRAUN, BERKMAN, JU UPTON (DH), Bruce, Holliday, ^McCutchen

SP: HALLADAY, Hamels, Cl Lee, Kershaw, Hanson, Jurrjens, J Zimmerman, Lohse, Cueto, A Sanchez, Karstens, Collmenter, Vogelsong

RP: F Cordero, Hanrahan

*J Johnson

*Pujols

^ Pence

^ Lincecum

^ H Bell

So here’s the “walk of shame,” the players who aren’t having the kind of statistical years to beat out other players and be in the All-Star Game. Take a bow!

AL (15 of them!)

C: R Martin, Wieters

2B: Kendrick
SS: JETER

3B: Beltre

OF: HAMILTON, Cuddyer, Joyce, Quentin

SP: F Hernandez, Price, CJ Wilson

RP: League, C Perez, Valverde

NL (“only” 12!)

C: Y Molina

1B: G Sanchez

SS: S Castro

3B: POLANCO, C Jones

OF: Beltran, Pence

SP: Cain, Lincecum

RP: Clippard, Venters, B Wilson