Leading the way through the most recent tally
for a starting All-Star spot in the American League outfield, over
800,000 votes up on the second-place challenger, is Red Sox left
fielder Jason Bay. There's no doubt that Jay Bay deserves a
spot in St. Louis on July 14. His .272 average, 19 homers and 69 RBIs
have led the Red Sox to first place in the AL East, and you'd be hard
pressed to find a more deserving MVP candidate in the AL.
Moving into second place in the voting in recent weeks is the equally deserving Ichiro Suzuki
of the Mariners, who's posting his typically ridiculous numbers at the
plate. Entering Tuesday, he's at .372 with six home runs and 18 RBIs.
He still remains a threat on the bath paths with 13 steals and has
arguably the league's strongest arm in right field. If he makes the AL
squad, it would be Ichiro's ninth All-Star Game in his nine major
league seasons.
My third vote goes to Torii Hunter of the Angels, a two-time
All-Star with the Twins, who's experienced a renaissance of sorts this
year in L.A. After a stellar 11 seasons in Minnesota, Hunter's numbers
dropped off a bit last year after joining the Angels. But this year,
he's hitting for both average (.306) and power (17 HR, 56 RBI) and
already has 12 swipes on the bases, which puts him well on his way to a
new career high.
Rangers' slugger Josh Hamilton currently sits third in the
All-Star voting, despite being on the DL since June 1. I can
rationalize voting for Hamilton solely to see him in Monday's home run
contest. But I have a harder time ticking off his name based on his
performance to this point in 2009: a .240 average, six homers and 24
RBIs.
If you're going to send a Texas outfielder to St. Louis, I'd suggest making it Nelson Cruz, whose power numbers — 18 dingers and 45 RBIs — have helped the Rangers contend in the surprisingly close AL West.
Carl Crawford (.319, 7 HR, 37 RBI, 40 SB) has teamed with sluggers Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena to lead the Rays to a six-game winning streak that has brought them right back into the middle of the AL East race.
Known more as athletic slap hitters than power guys, both Johnny Damon (.288, 14 HR, 36 RBI) and Curtis Granderson (18 HR, 43 RBI) have done more with the long ball in '09 and have made compelling cases for a trip to the Gateway City.
Veterans Jermaine Dye (.287, 18 HR, 46 RBI) and Bobby Abreu (.299, 4 HR, 43 RBI, 17 SB) are doing it again with the bat and could be valuable pieces of the AL All-Star squad.
And, finally, despite the lack of team success, it's hard not to notice what relative unknowns Adam Jones (.306, 12 HR, 44 RBI) and Shin-Soo Choo (.296, 10 HR, 45 RBI, 12 SB) have done, respectively, in Baltimore and Cleveland.
Who will we see roaming the outfield in St. Louis on July 14? Tune in this weekend to find out for sure.
***
Leading up to Major League Baseball’s announcement of the starting
lineups for the 2009 All-Star Game, to be held July 14 at Busch Stadium
in St. Louis, NESN.com will be “Making a Case” for starters at each of
the American and National League positions. Follow along and keep
checking back for daily updates:
Catcher: AL: Joe Mauer | NL: Yadier Molina
First base: AL: Mark Teixeira | NL: Albert Pujols
Second base: AL: Ian Kinsler | NL: Chase Utley
Shortstop: AL: Derek Jeter | NL: Hanley Ramirez
Third base: AL: Evan Longoria | NL: Mark Reynolds
Outfield: AL: Jason Bay, Torii Hunter, Ichiro Suzuki | NL: Ryan Braun, Raul Ibanez, Justin Upton
Pitcher: Wednesday, July 1
*Photo courtesy of STATS.
