All-Stars: AL Player Ballot

To continue my five-part preview of the 2010 All-Star game, here are the players voted to the AL squad via the player ballot.

Really? The players themselves get to decide which players accompany the fan-voted starters on the All-Star team? I have to plead ignorance regarding how long this has been the case. Judging by Bill Plaschke's whining, it wasn't always this way.

I agree with Bill's problems with the practice: too much of it could be based on reputation rather than talent. I assume that there are restrictions in place preventing players from voting for themselves (to avoid a Pirate King scenario... I can't believe I just linked to that movie, I hated that movie), but there can't be similar restrictions against voting for one's friends/family/or even teammates. But so it goes.

AL Player Ballot: BATTERS

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POS	Name	swp	swp/g	Team	WAR
C	Victor Martinez*	823	12.5	BOS	1.2
	John Buck	678	10.6	TOR	1.6
1B	Miguel Cabrera	1,385	18.5	DET	3.3
2B	Dustin Pedroia*	1,140	15.6	BOS	3.6
	Ian Kinsler	723	13.4	TEX	1.9
SS	Elvis Andrus	893	12.1	TEX	1.2
3B	Adrian Beltre	1,085	14.3	BOS	3.0
OF	Vernon Wells	1,129	14.5	TOR	1.4
OF	Jose Bautista	1,094	14.0	TOR	1.9
OF	Torii Hunter	1,040	13.9	LAA	2.2
DH	David Ortiz	962	14.8	BOS	1.6

The (*) symbol denotes a player who will not be able to participate due to injury. The player directly below him is his replacement.

(Also, I apologize if the formatting of the charts isn't quite as uniform as I'd like it (weird underlining or different fonts/sizes). If you're a purist, usually opening the individual post on its own will solve the problem.)

The first thing I noticed about the ballot is the absence of Kurt Suzuki, a better/more well-rounded catcher than Buck. But I guess the players love a good lots-of-power-out-of-nowhere story (also see Jose Bautista with his league-leading 20 home runs at the halfway point, already a career high).

Cabrera at first might end up having the highest swp of any All-Star, but it's likely his defense that gives him a lower WAR than starting first baseman Justin Morneau. I can't help but feel vindicated by the presence of Elvis Andrus, my choice for starting shortstop.

It's a shame that both the player ballot and the fan ballot include spaces for dedicated DH's. Not that the Joe Girardi will have any danger of running out of players with a roster of 34, but of those 34, two can't play in the field at all, and two more can't play beyond first base. I guess we can expect lots of pinch hits.

AL Player Ballot: PITCHERS

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POS	Name	swp	swp/g	Team	WAR
SP	David Price	1,142	76.1	TB	2.7
	Clay Buchholz	977	65.1	BOS	2.6
	Jon Lester	1,193	74.6	BOS	3.5
	Phil Hughes	958	68.4	NYY	1.1
	Cliff Lee	1,134	94.5	SEA	2.9
RP	Neftali Feliz	996	28.5	TEX	1.1
	Mariano Rivera	952	32.8	NYY	1.7
	Jose Valverde	1,021	30.0	DET	1.7

I'll show you the numbers for the NL pitchers next time, but I'll give you a spoiler: the AL just doesn't have as scary a combo as Halladay, Lincecum, Josh Johnson, and Ubaldo Jimenez. Lee has been awesome, but in roughly 2/3 of the starts as his counterparts. Otherwise, I see four stellar pitchers, but not one lights-out, unreal, season-on-the-line ace type. But maybe I just lack the imagination of the players.

I was surprised at Phil Hughes's low WAR, since the general reaction to his season has been amazement. But I was not so surprised at the low WARs of the relievers. It's like guru-Neyer always says: a pitcher who throws 60-70 innings, however dominant, won't help your team as much as a pitcher who throws 180-200 innings.

You'll notice their inflated swp, but that's because saves are totally and completely overrated (30 swp per save - the same as wins, which are also totally overrated!). But that's where the stars come out: at the end of the game, in close situations.