As the first half of the season starts to wind down, baseball will start to set it’s eyes on the 2010 All-Star Game on July 13th at Angels Stadium.
The voting is going quite well for a few New York baseball players in the Al, and not so well for the NL New Yorkers. Let’s take a look at who’s leading in each league and who the likely pitchers will be while keeping an eye towards possible Yankee and Met selections. We’ll start with the Amercian League.
1ST BASE
1. Justin Morneau Twins 1,402,496
2. Mark Teixeira Yankees 1,221,457
3. Miguel Cabrera Tigers 1,009,822
4. Kevin Youkilis Red Sox 642,407
5. Carlos Pena Rays 457,476
THE LEADERS: Teixera was leading for a while, but Morneau has taken a rather slim advantage in the last two updates. Teixera is having a rather rough year with his batting average hovering around .224, while Morneau is quietly having a great year.
MOST DESERVING: Miguel Cabrera. Morneau is having a fantastic year. Cabrera, however, is on another planet. His 19 home runs, 56 RBI and .330 batting average puts him miles above everyone else.
2ND BASE
1. Robinson Cano Yankees 1,784,896
2. Dustin Pedroia Red Sox 983,716
3. Ian Kinsler Rangers 827,920
4. Orlando Hudson Twins 718,183
5. Ben Zobrist Rays 472,755
THE LEADERS: Cano seems to have this one pretty much locked up with a fairly large lead of over 800,000 votes. Pedoria’s game has slipped a little and while his numbers aren’t bad, he’s not quite burning up the league.
MOST DESERVING: Cano. He’s had excellent seasons before but nothing like this. 13 HRs, 47 RBI and a .368 batting average makes him the obvious choice.
3RD BASE
1. Evan Longoria Rays 1,958,855
2. Alex Rodriguez Yankees 1,271,831
3. Michael Young Rangers 762,266
4. Adrian Beltre Red Sox 462,136
5. Nick Punto Twins 412,268
THE LEADERS: Going into the season you knew that Longoria and A-Rod would be the two top vote gettings and they are. Both have good numbers but A-Rod’s numbers are down for him. Beltre has quietly put together a very good season in Boston.
MOST DESERVING: Longoria. More home runs, more RBI, higher average and he his playing a larger part in the Rays’ wins. A-Rod’s 8 HRs, 43 RBI and .290 batting average is very good… for most 3rd basemen. Not for A-Rod.
SHORTSTOP
1. Derek Jeter Yankees 2,108,659
2. Elvis Andrus Rangers 999,455
3. J.J. Hardy Twins 647,891
4. Jason Bartlett Rays 483,383
5. Alex Gonzalez Blue Jays 446,570
THE LEADERS: Not a lot of exciting shortstops in the AL so far this year with Jeter and Andrus really the only two making much noise.
MOST DESERVING: Jeter. Andrus is having a nice year with a .294 batting average and 19 stolen bases, but Jeter is much more than just his solid numbers of 8 hrs, 39 RBI, .290 average and 7 stolten bases.
CATCHER
1. Joe Mauer Twins 2,617,822
2. Jorge Posada Yankees 822,865
3. Victor Martinez Red Sox 518,608
4. Taylor Teagarden Rangers 341,492
5. Gerald Laird Tigers 258,112
THE LEADERS: You had to know that Mauer would be up there. He’s one of the most important names in the MLB right now so his insurmountable lead is not surprising. Posada’s reputation with the bat has him up there despite two seperate DL stints.
MOST DESERVING: Martinez. As great as Mauer is, he’s been hurt a little and not playing at the level you’d expect for him, and despite the two grand slams this past weekend, Posada’s injuries have hampered him as well. Martinez has put up solid numbers of 8 HRs, 35 RBI and a .300 batting average with only 20 strike outs. Deserving numbers.
OUTFIELD
1. Ichiro Suzuki Mariners 1,231,950
2. Carl Crawford Rays 1,123,132
3. Nelson Cruz Rangers 1,093,099
4. Josh Hamilton Rangers 1,006,364
5. Nick Swisher Yankees 808,871
6. Curtis Granderson Yankees 766,088
7. Torii Hunter Angels 765,023
8. Brett Gardner Yankees 743,795
9. Vernon Wells Blue Jays 681,795
10. Michael Cuddyer Twins 644,679
THE LEADERS: Despite some rough starts, players like Ichiro and Hamilton have picked up their game to where most people expect them to be. Some of the names up here aren’t having the seasons you would expect like Hunter and Granderson.
MOST DESERVING: Jose Bautista, Carl Crawford and Alex Rios. Bautista’s .227 batting average is terrible, but his 18 HRs and 45 RBI is tops in the AL. Crawford is setting himself up for a heck of a free agent payday with 6 HRs, 36 RBI, 22 SBs, a .300 average and 50 runs scored (which is tops in the AL). Rios is also putting together a solid overall season with 13 HRs, 19 SBs and a .315 average with only 27 strike outs. Guys like Hamilton, Ichiro, Cruz and Swisher are all deserving, but these three stand out in my mind.
WHO SHOULD GO FROM THE YANKEES?
The Yankees are having a strong season, currently tied with the Rays for 1st place in the Al and the best record in baseball. Despite some rough performances from guys like Teixeria, A-Rod, Joba and Sabathia, the Yanks haven’t missed a beat. Brett Gardner has exceeded expectations and should get some consideration for the AL outfield, as should Nick Swisher. Cano and Jeter are locks in the voting and I would expect both Mariano Rivera and Phil Hughes to join them without much doubt, seeing they both are having great seasons. Andy Pettitte is also having a solid season and should get consideration as well. My no brainers are Jeter, Cano, Hughes and Rivera. Odds are you’ll see at least one or two from the lot of Swisher, A-Rod, Texieria and Pettite on the team as well.
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