Published 01:22, June the 29th, 2009
An anonymous All-Star ballot? Absolutely
Every summer, even though I can never bring myself to watch the turgid affair that is baseball’s All-Star game, I take my voting obnoxiously seriously. For instance, in previous years, I’ve refused to vote for David Ortiz as a first baseman when the game is held in a National League park. I pretentiously write in deserving candidates I know will never be selected. I scribble long lists, with names crossed out, circled and crossed out again.
But this year’s ballot may have been the hardest I’ve ever filled out. I found myself voting for players I’ve long dismissed as being in decline (Raul Ibanez, Torii Hunter). I seem to have voted for Marco Scutaro. And I watched as my pencil formed the letters “B-E-N Z-O-B-R-I-S-T.”
In the AL, the starters I picked were Joe Mauer, Kevin Youkilis, Ian Kinsler, Evan Longoria, Marco Scutaro (who seems to have finally learned to draw a walk, at age 33), Jason Bay, Hunter and Zobrist. Yes, I skipped over the AL leader in batting average, Ichiro — another declining player having a resurgent year — and penciled in the Rays utilityman. Zobrist has split time between second base and the outfield, and has enough at-bats at each to qualify him for either.
Multiposition players are slowly losing their stigma and should be praised, not penalized, for their flexibility. And Zobrist currently leads the AL in OPS.
The NL ballot was a little easier. With “no-duh” choices Brian McCann, Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, David Wright and Hanley Ramirez anchoring the infield, I turned confidently to the outfield … where I promptly felt myself facing an impossible choice. In the end, I went with Raul Ibanez, whose “hot start” has amazingly lasted through the end of June, Justin Upton, who made up for a cold April with a torrid May, and Ryan Braun, who squeaked in at the last second when Carlos Beltran hit the DL. (I was relieved by this development, as I couldn’t believe I was about to vote for Beltran — what is this, 2006?)
Even the players who didn’t make my final cut were … perplexing. Brad Hawpe? I don’t think I’d given him consideration before. Even Brandon Inge and Aaron Hill managed to (albeit briefly) cross my mind.
Looking at my final list, with all the famous names that were not on it, I wondered for a moment if I’d missed the point. It’s the All-Star game, after all, not the All-Having-A-Great-Season Team. I don’t know if I’d recognize Scutaro or Zobrist if I ran into them on the street. (Or even in the ballpark, for that matter.)
But these days, when a different famous slugger gets dragged through the PED mud every week, the idea of an anonymous all-star is rather refreshing. No shenanigans. No “bling.” Just good baseball. Now that’s a midsummer classic I might watch.
