Earlier in the day, the selections for the 2012 MLB All Star Game were made. Every year fans of different teams around the league complain about being “snubbed”. The players that they cheer for and love or maybe even the players they voted for didn’t make it and they think they have a real reason why the player that they love should get in. A lot of the time, the fan has a good argument.. The problem is that the way that players are selected isn’t always fair. Players that deserve to be in aren’t always in. So, unlike most other baseball blogs I’ll be focusing on the positive of the players in the game and not the negative.
Jose Bautista and Josh Hamilton battled to see who could get the most overall votes. Hamilton won by a lot and definitely deserved it as he’s putting together another possible MVP season. He’s got average and power like nobody else in the game right now. Once again Jose Bautista leads the league in home runs going into the All Star break and that’s a good reason for him to be deserving of the All Star game.
Derek Jeter was selected once again and deserves it because he’s one of the best short stops to play the game. Ortiz is playing great this year and deserves the honor of being the DH for the American League. Robinson Cano has changed the game for second basemen. He’s a great hitter and he hits for power.
One of the best stories this year is how well Chris Sale is pitching after being drafted only two years ago. The only pitcher that got more votes from the selecting group was Justin Verlander. That’s pretty impressive for such a young pitcher.
Miguel Cabrera is in the All Star Game again and definitely deserves to be there. He has been one of the best hitters in the American League over the past three years. Mike Trout is another one of those great stories. He’s one of only a select list of players that in one year play in the Futures Game and the next year play in the All Star game. He is a five or six tool player that has a ton of potential and was happy that he got selected to the game. Adam Jones, Paul Konerko, Mark Trumbo, and Adam Dunn are also among deserving reserves in the AL.
In the National League, Buster Posey got the most votes. He was very deserving of that after having a terrible season ending injury last year. He has worked hard since that injury and is back to having a fantastic year both defensively and offensively. Joey Votto was extremely deserving of being in the All Star Game because he’s having another year where he can go for the triple crown and be in the MVP race. Uggla is having a great season and deserves being part of the team. Seeing Melky Cabrera and Pablo Sandoval as starters just shows how many San Francisco Giants fans voted and how much they care about getting their guys in. A great showing by a great fanbase.
It’s great to see that pitchers like Wade Miley, Gio Gonzalez, and especially RA Dickey were selected. Young guys like Chapman, Strasburg, and Kershaw show that there will be plenty of good pitching in the future. Closers like Papelbon and Hanrahan are having great years and deserve to be in the All Star game for sure.
Carlos Gonzalez and Giancarlo Stanton are making their first All Star appearances and even more impressive they are among the better hitters in the National League right now despite being young. Yadier Molina is having his best offensive year yet and is still just as good behind the plate as he was before this season. Ryan Braun, last year’s MVP, is having another great season and deserves the selection for sure. The best story of all for the National League reserves is David Wright. He has a chance to be the Comeback Player of the Year because of everything that happened last night. This year he’s been on fire and has some great batting statistics. He’s having a great year and definitely deserves to be on the squad.
See, that wasn’t so hard. Taking the positive out of the All-Star game selections. There are so many players in the game this year that deserve being there 100%. The stories in this year’s All Star Game are great, so don’t get caught up in who isn’t there. Embrace who is.
The Triple Steal 