Have you ever been mixed in with a crowd of people and felt that you're more knowledgeable than everyone single of of them? Has the crowd ever been over 30,000 people? My answers, yes and yes.
A few weeks ago I was at Mariners game and was handed an All-Star game ballot. A part of me did not want to take part in this because I already knew that the majority of the starters (who are the only people the fans vote for), were going to be Red Sox and Yankee players. Especially with the event being held at Yankee Stadium later this month. But the Mariners were losing and I was bored so I thought I would entertain myself for five minutes.
As an avid fantasy baseball player where the game is based purely on numbers and numbers alone, I've developed the habit of taking all the ingredients out of the selection process except for the numbers each individual player has put up this year. I don't care what someone did last year or has done for an average of the past three. I don't care if he's a captain or an outspoken guy with the media. All-Star events in any sport are made to celebrate the players having good seasons, er...good first halves of seasons, that year and that year alone.
So who would make my All Star teams?
Catcher: A.J. Pierzynski - Chicago White Sox
Pierzynski hasn't batted over .300 since his final year in Minnesota back in 2003 but is on pace to do so for the third time in his 11th year in the bigs. Pierzynski ranks among the top three at his position in the American League in the following categories:
Games played(71) - ranked 2nd only 5 behind Joe Mauer
At-bats(287) - League Leader
Runs(39) - ranked 2nd only12 behind Joe Mauer
Hits(87) - ranked 2nd only 2 behind Joe Mauer
Doubles(20) - ranked 2nd only 2 behind Joe Mauer
Home Runs(7) - tied for 3rd only 5 behind Mike Napoli
Rbis(32) - tied for 3rd only 4 behind Joe Mauer
Total Bases(130) - League Leader
Slugging Percentage(.453) - ranked 1st among catchers with at least 200 at bats
Batting Average(.303) - ranked 3rd among catchers with at least 200 at bats
Joe Mauer's name does top AJ in a lot of these categories but the splits between Mauer's numbers home and away are staggering as a .376 home batting average compared to a .266 away batting average is just too big to ignore. It also helps that Pierzynski plays for Chicago who leads their respective division and currently holds the fifth best record in all of baseball at 49-36.
First Base: Justin Morneau - Minnesota Twins
While Morneau's teammate Mauer has a wide differential in his home and away numbers, Morneau is steady wherever he goes hitting .311 at home and .309 on the road for a .310 batting average, best in the American League for any first baseman with over 100 at bats. (Technically Sean Casey of the Red Sox has 106 at bats and a .358 average but c'mon, let's get serious). The former MVP leads AL first baseman in at-bats(329), hits(102), and rbis(63) and has played in all 85 of the Twins games helping them to a 47-38 record, good enough for 2nd in the division.
Second Base: Ian Kinsler - Texas Rangers
This isn't even close. Kinsler is only 13 hits away from his previous season high of 127 which he hit last year in only his second season with the Rangers. Kinsler is set to crush his old records and set ne
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