What Are Your Baseball All-Star Selections?

June 19, 2002 | Charlie Henrickson

[Charles Henrickson]

We are now in the last two hours of voting! You can vote until 11:59 (Eastern) tonight at mlb.com. You can vote as many as 25 times.

To help you vote, I checked the stats today and I'm listing the top four offensive players at each position. Here's the formula I used:

Total Bases + Net Stolen Bases + On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage = Total Offensive Points (TOP, a statistic I created today!)

* The asterisk marks my choice for starter.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Catcher:
* Piazza 1012
Miller 971
LoDuca 926
Santiago 910

First Base:
* Helton 1235
Klesko 1056
Sexson 1035
D. Lee 1013

Second Base:
Spivey 1119
* Vidro 1040
Kent 977
Castillo 892

Shortstop:
* J. Hernandez 984
Rollins 887
Renteria 874
Furcal 848

Third Base:
* Lowell 1105
Houston 1046
Zeile 983
Alfonzo 924

Outfield:
* Bonds 1557
* Sosa 1262
Giles 1208
Walker 1182
* Green 1167
Edmonds 1152
Dunn 1141
Berkman 1134
Guerrero 1124
Burrell 1102
Gonzalez 1082
Floyd 1072

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Catcher:
Pierzynski 973
* Posada 955
D. Wilson 833
Varitek 826

First Base:
Sweeney 1180
* Giambi 1165
Thome 1131
Konerko 1106

Second Base:
* Soriano 1139
Kennedy 885
M. Young 845
Durham 834

Shortstop:
* A. Rodriguez 1180
Garciaparra 1022
Vizquel 1021
Tejada 988

Third Base:
Hinske 1052
* Chavez 1046
Hillenbrand 1030
Ventura 1021

Outfield:
Ordonez 1082
* Hunter 1079
Anderson 1053
* Suzuki 1043
* B. Williams 1011
Salmon 1010
Damon 997
Winn 986
J. Jones 972
Fick 968
Beltran 967
Gibbons 918

A few observations:

A first-place ranking at a position should not be the only factor in deciding who should start. You should also consider what, if anything, the guy has ever done before. For example, Junior Spivey has never done anything before, but Jose Vidro has been very good for several years, so I give the nod to Vidro at NL 2b. Likewise, at AL 3b, Eric Hinske is a newbie, so I am picking Eric Chavez.

This chart only considers offense. If certain players are much better defensively than others, you might put them ahead of those other players, even if they're behind them a little offensively.

Consider "bunching." If players are within 50 points of each other, that's close. For example, look at AL 3b. All four are within 31 points, so the #4 guy is not that far behind the #1 guy offensively. Or for the third NL OF, do you pick Giles, Walker, or Green--or do you go further down the list to Edmonds, Guerrero, or Gonzalez? You could make a case for each.

[NeoCaveman]

Sorry, I'm prejudiced. But aren't we great?

Go Diamondbacks! My team has dreary prospects for the next few years, may I borrow yours.

Freakin' Indians trade or lose every good player. (/screaming like a maniac)

[Slip18]

I'm sitting here laughing with your names of the baseball players.

Thought I was going to hemorrhage today with the Diamondbacks. Sheesh, what's going on? One last darn strike to end the 9th, and then a GRAND SLAM. I think I want to hide!

[BluesDuke]

That's a damn good stat you invented. What the hell, you and I ought to take our act on the road, since I think (underline that, gang, since I'm not for certain sure) I invented the stranded runs average/inherited runs average tabs for relief pitchers. But I only voted once (none of this 25 times option jazz, this ain't Florida!), at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. I pretty much picked the guys you tabulated as leaders, though I still maintain that just because a guy's never "done anything" before it should not deter from his All-Star worthiness, and Junior Spivey this season is the best second baseman in the National League (he's very well improved with the glove, too). Then again, there's almost no perfect way to pick the All-Star Game roster.

On the other hand, I'm thrilled that Baseball Weekly writer Paul White's idea about jamming the All-Star ballots for the Twins and Expos didn't really get much off the ground when all was said and done. His heart may have been in the right place but his brains must have gone to bed, if he really thought a) the idea would really work, and b) if it did, that Bug Selig wouldn't have seized upon it as an excuse to void the vote and yank it away from fans, using as precedent the ballot-box stuffing campaign of 1956 that put the entire Cincinnati Reds' starting lineup (including Frank Robinson, who really did deserve the honour) into the All-Star starting lineup and provoked then-Commissioner Elmer Fudd Frick to take the All-Star vote away from the fans.

[AmishDude]

I picked the whole roster. The AL was easier (starter listed first):

• C - Posada (NYY), Pierzynski (MIN)
• 1B - Thome (CLE), Giambi (NYY), Sweeney (KC)
• 2B - Soriano (NYY), Durham (CWS)
• SS - Rodriguez (TEX), Garciaparra (BOS), Jeter (NYY) [Come on, you KNOW Torre will pick him.]
• 3B - Chavez (OAK), Batista (BAL) [Team choice]
• OF - Anderson (ANA), Hunter (MIN), Suzuki (SEA), Ordonez (CWS), Beltran (KC), Winn (TB) [Team choice]
• SP - Lowe (BOS), Colon (CLE), Martinez (BOS), Piniero (SEA), Zito (BOS), Buehrle (CWS), Halladay (TOR), Weaver (DET) [Team choice]
• RP - Guardado (MIN), Urbina (BOS), Rivera (NYY), Sasaki (SEA)

The NL was a little harder.

• C - Piazza (NYM), Miller (ARI)
• 1B - Helton (COL), Sexson (MIL), Klesko (SD)
• 2B - Vidro (MON), Castillo (FLA)
• SS - Hernandez (MIL), Rollins (PHI)
• 3B - Lowell (FLA), Houston (MIL)
• OF - Bonds (SF), Sosa (CHI), Guerrero (MON), Walker (COL), Green (LA), Giles (PIT), Berkman (HOU) [Team choice]
• SP - Glavine (ATL), Johnson (ARI), Shilling (ARI), Perez (LA), Astacio (NYM), Padillia (PHI), Burnett (FLA), Dessens (CIN) [Team choice]
• RP - Gagne (LA), Hoffman (SD), Kim (ARI), Nen (SF)

As far as Castillo, I cannot imagine not having him on the team after his streak. Spivey probably deserves that spot and, who knows, injuries might put on 3 second basemen, but I doubt it. I chose Rollins because his fielding stats are really good despite playing on turf. Remember that catcher substitutions are permitted in the All-Star game for injury.

Nice stat, but Bill James is still the king. :)

PS, I didn't take Colon's trade into account. I don't want to now!

[Charles Henrickson]

OK, I've crunched all the numbers, considered all the factors, and come up with my final All-Star Roster. Thirty players on each side, with all thirty teams represented:

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Catcher:
Mike Piazza, NYM
Damian Miller, ARI

First Base:
Todd Helton, COL
Richie Sexson, MIL

Second Base:
Jose Vidro, MON
Junior Spivey, ARI

Shortstop:
Jose Hernandez, MIL
Jimmy Rollins, PHI

Third Base:
Mike Lowell, FLA
Tyler Houston, MIL

Outfield:
Barry Bonds, SF
Sammy Sosa, CHC
Shawn Green, LA
Brian Giles, PIT
Larry Walker, COL
Vladimir Guerrero, MON
Luis Gonzalez, ARI
Jim Edmonds, STL
Lance Berkman, HOU

Pitcher:
Randy Johnson, ARI
Tom Glavine, ATL
Bartolo Colon, MON
Odalis Perez, LA
Matt Morris, STL
Curt Schilling, ARI
Eric Gagne, LA
Byung-Hyun Kim, ARI
Robb Nen, SF
Danny Graves, CIN
Trevor Hoffman, SD

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Catcher:
Jorge Posada, NYY
A. J. Pierzynski, MIN

First Base:
Jason Giambi, NYY
Mike Sweeney, KC
Paul Konerko, CWS

Second Base:
Alfonso Soriano, NYY

Shortstop:
Alex Rodriguez, TEX
Nomar Garciaparra, BOS
Omar Vizquel, CLE
Derek Jeter, NYY

Third Base:
Eric Chavez, OAK
Tony Batista, BAL

Outfield:
Torii Hunter, MIN
Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
Bernie Williams, NYY
Magglio Ordonez, CWS
Garret Anderson, ANA
Johnny Damon, BOS
Randy Winn, TB
Rob Fick, DET

Pitcher:
Derek Lowe, BOS
Mark Buehrle, CWS
Pedro Martinez, BOS
Roy Halladay, TOR
Barry Zito, OAK
Jamie Moyer, SEA
Eddie Guardado, MIN
Ugueth Urbina, BOS
Mariano Rivera, NYY
Kaz Sasaki, SEA

Now let's hear your rosters. We can discuss reasons for selections, omissions, just-misses, etc.

The All-Star Selection Show will be on ESPN Sunday at 7:00 (Eastern).

[AmishDude]

Well, we missed on 5 people on the NL and 6 on the AL. I believe there's no way Torre takes 4 shortstops. I could see him carrying 1 second baseman, though. I don't mind that we were different on a few starting pitchers, though. Often times, those pitchers are picked for weird reasons -- promising rookies that look good or veterans for one last go. I have to agree with you, though. Bernie Williams goes before Carlos Beltran.

Of course, there will be the phantom hamstring injuries that will change this and there is that neat 30th man vote, which will fuel talk shows for a few days.

Here's a monkey wrench: Hillenbrand (MIN) is already going to be starting AL third baseman and Ramirez (BOS) is already in the AL outfield.

[BluesDuke]

I have a feeling you're not going to be the most popular guest in Joe Torre's clubhouse. The Yankee manager has said he's not putting anyone on the team who won't be available to pitch in the Game, which translates to mean he's not going to pick Barry Zito for the team. Which translates to mean Joe Torre is a horse's ass. So Zito pitches the Sunday before the Game? Big deal. This guy singlehandledly kept the Athletics from going into the sewer when he kept winning while the rest of the boys continued rounding out and working the bugs out in May. So he starts the Sunday before the Game? Ever heard of a throwing day between starts, Big Joe? Put the man on the team. Maybe even let him pitch an inning. The man has earned the honour. Refreshing surprise: Eddie Guardado. They were calling him at best the likely setup man going into the season - who'da thunk he'd end up for now maybe the top closer in the American League this year? It says here the Twins are in deep do-do without him. Call him, almost, the Eric Gagne of the junior circuit for the time being. I have a feeling there's a general manager in Cleveland who is going to be burned in effigy on All-Star day when Indian fans see Bartolo Colon warming up in an Expo uniform. My call on that trade: Either Colon is going to prove to be an older 29 than he looks this year, or he's going to prove to be the Indians' answer to the Frank Robinson deal that got Dick Wagner burned in effigy in Cincinnati - if not the 21st Century version of the Curse of Rocky Colavito. I can understand Indian fans wanting to open up the proverbial can of whoop-ass on Shapiro and company, but aside from Shapiro's God-fool omission of 2003 (he spoke of rebuilding for 2004 and 2005 as though 2003 had been called due to rain) it's just too soon to tell about this deal, unless you consider the possibility (is anything an impossibility in the Bug Selig Era?) that someone is looking to fat the Expos' calf for a shot at the division and, building on that, a move out of Montreal...

[BluesDuke]

Thought I was going to hemorrhage today with the Diamondbacks. Sheesh, what's going on? One last darn strike to end the 9th, and then a GRAND SLAM. I think I want to hide!

Relax. Don't sweat it. Like the man used to say on radio, yesterday's a canceled check and tomorrow's a promissory note. If it makes you feel any better (it makes me feel better - reality check: Kim has the stones to recuperate, he already proved it for damn near all the first half), John Smoltz got tommyhawked in the middle of a nine-run ninth that blew him a save and put the Mets into extra frames and toward a win in the earlier part of the season, and Smoltz threw a legitimately questionable pitch (if I remember, he tried to sneak one a little inside, and it got snuck over the fence, and that opened the dike) on a lesser count than Kim threw his two-striker to Greg (Going, Going) Zahn. He won't be the last prime closer to get wrecked by the four-shot with the last out coming. I still see the NL West going wire to wire, maybe coming down even to a Dodger-Snake tiebreaker. That should be fun to watch.

[Charles Henrickson]

Tonight the All-Star squads were announced, 29 of the 30 spots on each team, the eight fan-voted starters plus 21 reserves and pitchers selected by the manager. (The 30th man on each team will be chosen by the fans in online voting that will run on mlb.com until 6:00 p.m. Eastern, Tuesday.)

All in all, pretty good. Only one really wrong choice on either squad, and that was a fan-voted starter who narrowly edged out the deserving player at the NL's weakest position: Scott Rolen over Mike Lowell at 3b. Lowell was chosen as the back-up, so Rolen essentially knocked Tyler Houston or Todd Zeile or Edgardo Alfonzo off the squad, which was no great loss, since none of them has gotta-be-there credentials.

In the NL, there were six players named that I did not have on my roster: Rolen, Benito Santiago, Luis Castillo, Adam Dunn, John Smoltz, and Mike Williams. All are worthy except Rolen. Instead of those six, I had these seven players: Houston, Brian Giles, Larry Walker, Jim Edmonds, Bartolo Colon (the league-switch cost him), Robb Nen, and Danny Graves. Giles or Walker could still make the team as the 30th man, as could Andruw Jones, Ryan Klesko, or Albert Pujols. I will vote for either Giles or Walker, I'm not sure which yet.

In the AL, there were five players named that I did not have on my roster: Miquel Tejada (I had four shortstops with no back-up second baseman, Torre did the same thing, except he picked all five deserving shortstops), Shea Hillenbrand, Robin Ventura, Manny Ramirez, and Freddy Garcia. No bad choices there, but Ventura may be the weakest, and he kept my starter, Eric Chavez, off the team. Instead of those five, I had these six players: Chavez, Bernie Williams, Magglio Ordonez, Johnny Damon, Jamie Moyer, and Ugueth Urbina. Chavez, Ordonez, or Damon could still make the team as the 30th man, as could Jim Thome or Darin Erstad. I'll probably vote for Chavez or maybe Ordonez.

Of course, between now and July 9, we could see all sorts of mysterious injuries appear (that will somehow get better by July 11), so we could end up with all these guys making the teams, plus Delino DeShields.

Here are the rosters announced tonight:

NL All-Stars

Starters
C M. Piazza, Mets
1B T. Helton, Rockies
2B J. Vidro, Expos
3B S. Rolen, Phillies
SS J. Rollins, Phillies
OF S. Sosa, Cubs
OF B. Bonds, Giants
OF V. Guerrero, Expos

Reserves
C D. Miller, D-Backs
C B. Santiago, Giants
1B R. Sexson, Brewers
2B J. Spivey, D-Backs
2B L. Castillo, Marlins
SS J. Hernandez, Brewers
3B M. Lowell, Marlins
OF L. Berkman, Astros
OF L. Gonzalez, D-Backs
OF S. Green, Dodgers
OF A. Dunn, Reds

Pitchers
R. Johnson, D-Backs
C. Schilling, D-Backs
B. Kim, D-Backs
O. Perez, Dodgers
E. Gagne, Dodgers
M. Morris, Cardinals
T. Glavine, Braves
J. Smoltz, Braves
M. Williams, Pirates
T. Hoffman, Padres

AL All-Stars

Starters
C J. Posada, Yankees
1B J. Giambi, Yankees
2B A. Soriano, Yankees
3B S. Hillenbrand, Red Sox
SS A. Rodriguez, Rangers
OF I. Suzuki, Mariners
OF M. Ramirez, Red Sox
OF T. Hunter, Twins

Reserves
C A.J. Pierzynski, Twins
1B M. Sweeney, Royals
1B P. Konerko, White Sox
SS N. Garciaparra, Red Sox
SS M. Tejada, A's
SS D. Jeter, Yankees
SS O. Vizquel, Indians
3B T. Batista, Orioles
3B R. Ventura, Yankees
OF G. Anderson, Angels
OF R. Winn, Devil Rays
OF R. Fick, Tigers

Pitchers
M. Buerhle, White Sox
D. Lowe, Red Sox
P. Martinez, Red Sox
F. Garcia, Mariners
K. Sasaki, Mariners
B. Zito, A's
R. Halladay, Blue Jays
M. Rivera, Yankees
E. Guardado, Twins

[Slip18]

Thanks for all the information, Charles. I'll know more than my husband! Hahahahaha. You've been great on this thread.

[Sabertooth]

In picking All-Stars, I consider three factors:
1) This season
2) Last season
3) Career

Which is why you gotta have Jeff Kent at 2nd. He started slowly this year, but has been on fire the past month, and now has 13 HR and 52 RBI to go with a .316 BA.

Kent is one of only a handful of 2nd baseman to be league MVP, and he's on track to knock in 100 RBI for the 6th straight year.

How many 2nd baseman have ever done that before?

None.

[Charles Henrickson]

You're right about Kent, of course. He has been on fire, and his past credentials would be second only to Alomar among NL second baseman (if not as good as). Notice in my post #41 from last Thursday, Kent was third (behind Spivey and Vidro and ahead of Castillo) in my offensive rankings for the year. By now he has probaly moved up a notch. Jeff Kent would certainly be a deserving choice at this strong NL position. (Throw Gold Glover Fernando Vina in there, too, not far behind.)

[Charles Henrickson]

There's only a few hours left to help pick the 30th Man on each All-Star team. Online voting at mlb.com continues until 6:00 (Eastern) today.

Here's a comparison of rankings in the latest voting totals vs. the latest offensive statistics (based on Total Bases + Net Stolen Bases + On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage):

VOTING
1. Damon
2. Thome
3. Chavez
4. Ordonez
5. Erstad

OFFENSE
1. Thome
2. Ordonez
3. Chavez
4. Damon
5. Erstad

VOTING
1. Jones
2. Giles
3. Pujols
4. Walker
5. Klesko

OFFENSE
1. Walker
2. Giles
3. Pujols
4. Jones
5. Klesko

Of course, defense is not reflected here, so you could make a case for the higher vote totals for Damon and Jones, both good defensive center fielders. But Chavez is a Gold Glover at third, and some of these other guys are no slouches on defense, either. I think I'll vote for Thome and Giles, both of whom have a chance of making the team.

[Dales]

I would vote for Damon and Giles.

Giles is the clear choice in the NL. And in the AL, Thome got off to a real slow start while the Indians got buried in the standings. He has been great since, but a case can be made that his production has been less valuable than one would normally think by the numbers.

[AmishDude]

I agree with you. Thome and Giles. Chavez, being a third baseman, is probably more valuable, but the 30th man will be a late inning pinch hitter and I'd want Thome. On the NL side, Walker has better numbers, but they are Coors-altered numbers. (Plus, I live in Pittsburgh!)

[Slip18]

I vote for all the players who are on the All Stars!

Thanks for this great thread, Charles. It's been fun.