It's time for another big league baseball mid summers classic, the All-Star Game, to be played at Kaufman Stadium, Home of the Kansas City Royals.
The annual clash between the American and National leagues wii take place on Tuesday, July 10th, and will be broadcast on FOX.
The game is, to say the least, the best All-Star game of any of the four major sports, with an actual baseball game, with the same rules as usual, being played by the big league players.
One part of the annual get together is the usual arguments of weather or not the players selected are true stars, who deserve to be there, or just the result of bad fan balloting and managerial selections.
Fans, myself included, always have their own selections, right, or wrong, which leads to debate, which, I guess, is part of what makes the middle of July so interesting to us baseball fans.
This is also my yearly post as a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.
I decided this year to just post my picks for the starters of each league, starting with the American League.
To sit and go through the entire squad for me, is just, well, to much for me anymore, so I hope you'll understand.
So, here's a list of my selections for starters....and check out the cool All-Star Baseball...I'd like one of those.
American League
First Base...Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers
Second Base...Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
Third Base...Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Shortstop...Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
Outfielders...Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers...Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays...Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
DH...Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals
Catcher...Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles.
Staring Pitcher(selected by manager)...Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
First off, yes, I'm a Tigers fan, and yes, I have three of them on the starting A.L. team
...here's why...
...If any of you think the defending American League Cy Young Award and Most Valuable player of the year from 2011, Justin Verlander, doesn't deserve to be the starter, I'm sorry for your troubles, but he's the choice, because he deserves it, period.
Fielder and Cabrera have carried the Tigers offense in 2012, without much help at all, from any of the batters in the lineup who hit after Fielder, who bats cleanup.
Those batters, positions, 5-9, have been hurt, sent to the minors, called up from the minors, or have just plain not gotten it done.
Even the Tigers lead-off hitter, Austin Jackson, spent time on the DL, and Andy Dirks, who was playing, and hitting well, is on the DL, and may not return until after the break.
The rest of the team, I believe, speak for themselves, including rookie outfielder Mike Trout, who since being called up to the big leagues, and re-energized the Angels by hitting a A.L. best .354.
The DH, Billy Butler?
OK, yes, I primarily chose Butler because he's from Jacksonville, Florida, my home the past 31+ years, but Billy has continued to be a terrific player, batting .296, with 15 HRs and 46 RBI.
Cano, Jeter(..who continues to play shortstop like he was 25, is, at 38, is hitting .304)...Wieters, Hamilton, and A.L. HR leader Bautista(26), are as good as it gets at their respective positions.
OK, I know what you're saying...where's Paul Konerko at 1B, or his ChiSox teammate, Adam Dunn?
Where's Ian Kinsler of the Rangers, or Mike Aviles of the BoSox?
Hey, I get it, they're playing well, especially Dunn, who's gonna make the squad, I assure you, and as I've said, there is always gonna be an argument, no matter what.
I think the reserves should include Dunn, Konerko, Aviles, Kinsler, Mark Trombo of the Angels, Mike Moustakas of the Royals, and Austin Jackson, just to name a few.
Please fell free to comment in the section below, or you can find me on Twitter....here.
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