Picking the All-Star Teams: American League

By: Eli Kaberon

The fact that the league that wins the Major League Baseball All-Star game gets home-field advantage in the World Series might be the dumbest rule in all of sports. The NBA’s big mid-season event doesn’t determine who has home court in the Finals, and neither does the NHL’s when it comes to the Stanley Cup. (I won’t even mention the Pro Bowl because for all I know it’s a myth, considering I’ve never watched a single down.)

I can think of several better ways to hand out home-field: alternate it every year, give it to the team in the Series with the best record, give it to the league who won more games in interleague play, give it to the team that has higher attendance total during the regular season, or give it to the league that wins the C.C. Sabathia vs. Prince Fielder Krispy Kreme eating contest held the morning of the actual All-Star game.

Yet because Bug Selig and the executives at FOX think it’s a good idea, the game has this special importance, even though the outcome could easily be determined by a pitcher from the Nationals and a hitter from the Royals: two players forced on the team because of the rules who have absolutely no shot at actually being in the World Series. And since we here in Chicago have two first place teams with dreams of October, this year’s All-Star game has a special importance. (It adds to it that both of our first place teams can’t win games on the road). Because of that, I have put together the should-be starting lineups for both the American and National League’s.

Before the batting orders are unveiled, here are the five guidelines I used in filling out my roster:

1) Lineup cards were filled out like lineup cards. That means leadoff hitters in the one hole, RBI guys batting cleanup, and strikeout prone hitters at the end.
2) Based off of Selig’s rule, there is to be only one player from a team in the starting lineup. This made it tough in some cases, and some of the league’s most deserving players got left off, but gave a better representation of each league.
3) There is a left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. I’m not sure why MLB has just three general outfield spots on the ballot, but in this situation, the players will be placed at their real position.
4) The fan’s balloting will not impact my choices at all, which is why guys like Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia are nowhere to be found. (No offense to Pedrioa)
5) Stats are from games through July 2.

American League

1- Ichrio, RF, Seattle—It hasn’t been the best season for the Mariners or for Ichiro, but he’s still hitting over .300, still ranks second in the AL in runs scored with 59 and stolen bases with 33. Just think what those numbers would be with other good players in the lineup.

2- Joe Mauer, C, Minnesota—For some reason he’s not a super-star, but Mauer sure plays like one. The Twins backstop leads the AL in batting average at .326, has an almost 2:1 walk to strikeout ratio, and still has time to play the toughest position on the field (and play it well).

3- Josh Hamilton, CF, Texas—The surprise of baseball is still knocking the seams off of the ball. Hamilton is hitting .308, has 19 home runs, and also (are you ready for this?) 82 RBI. That’s nearly 20 more runs batted in than the next guy in the league. Pretty amazing stuff for a guy who was out of baseball two and a half years ago.

4- Manny Ramirez, DH, Boston—The Red Sox have several deserving candidates, but their catalyst is Manny. His 16 home runs and 53 RBI are really good, but considering David Ortiz has been either struggling or injured for most of the year, the numbers are even more impressive.

5-Alex Rodriguez, 3B, New York—Potentially the new Mr. Madonna is having another great season in the Bronx. A-Rod is hitting .321 with 17 homers and 47 RBI, and most likely will win the Gold Glove again. The Yankees haven’t had the season their fans expected, but they can’t blame Rodriguez.

6- Carlos Quentin, LF, Chicago—Calm down Sox fans, your boy is here. If it weren’t for Hamilton, there’s no doubt that Quentin would be the big surprise of the AL. A fifth outfielder a year ago on Arizona, Quentin is now hitting third for the AL Central leaders, thanks to his 19 homers and 61 RBI. If he keeps it up in the second half, look for his name high up on the MVP ballot.

7- Casey Kotchman, 1B, Anaheim —If this were a full roster, the Angels rep would easily be closer Francisco Rodriguez. But its not, so Kotchman gets the call. He is somewhat deserving, shown by his .293 average, 40 RBI and only 17 strikeouts in 294 at-bats.

8-Brian Roberts, 2B, Baltimore— Roberts was almost traded to the Cubs last winter, but the Orioles decided they were better off with him on the roster. I’d say so. Roberts has 96 hits, 31 doubles, and 22 stolen bases, and is one of the few productive players on the O’s roster.

9- Edgar Renteria, SS, Detroit—To be honest, you’d have a tough time arguing that Renteria is one of the four best shortstops in the AL. Yet because of guideline # 2, I can’t pick the Rangers’ Michael Young or Derek Jeter of the Yankees. Renteria is doing OK, batting .268 with 32 RBI. Maybe if he produced more, the Tigers wouldn’t have such an uphill climb to get back in the playoff race.

SP-Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay—His 7-3 record might not be lighting the world on fire, nor is his 72 innings pitched. But no pitcher in the AL has been as good as the ace of the Rays. In his 11 starts this season (remember, he missed all of April with a left elbow strain), Kazmir has not given up more than three earned runs in any of them. Also, in his three losses, his team has scored a combined seven runs. Pretty good for first place Tampa.

Coming next: the National League All-Stars….

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Eli Kaberon is a 2005 graduate of Evanston Township High School and currently is attending Columbia College in the loop, majoring in print journalism. A life-long fan of the Cubs, Bears and Bulls, Eli also works as a seat vendor at Wrigley Field and has sold hot dogs to everyone ranging from Bears tight end Greg Olsen to Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Eli can be reached at ekaberon@yahoo.com.

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