Friday, October 3, 2008

bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Final Rosters

After pouring over stats and arguing with myself as to who deserves to be on the team, I have finally finished completing my 36-man teams. I think I can say with confidence that the players who made my "All-Star Teams" were worthy of inclusion, not just because many of them are major superstars, but because the their statistics were high enough above their peers that made them stand out from the rest.

So, without further ado, here are the players who made my 2008 MLB End of Year All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(Lots of space here when I added the table. Don't know why...)








American League

First Basemen

  • Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
  • Justin Morneau, Twins
  • Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox

Second Basemen

  • Ian Kinsler, Rangers
  • Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
  • Brian Roberts, Orioles

Third Basemen

  • Evan Longoria, Rays
  • Melvin Mora, Orioles
  • Alex Rodriguez, Yankees

Shortstops

  • Derek Jeter, Yankees
  • Jhonny Peralta, Indians
  • Michael Young, Rangers

Outfielders

  • Jack Cust, Athletics
  • Vladimir Guerrero, Angels
  • Joey Hamilton, Rangers
  • Raul Ibañez, Mariners
  • Nick Markakis, Orioles
  • Magglio Ordoñez, Tigers
  • Carlos Quentin, White Sox
  • Grady Sizemore, Indians
  • Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners

Catchers

  • Joe Mauer, Twins
  • Dioner Navarro, Rays
  • A. J. Pierzynski, White Sox

Designated Hitter

  • Jim Thome, White Sox

Pitchers

  • A. J. Burnett, Blue Jays
  • Gavin Floyd, White Sox
  • Roy Halladay, Blue Jays
  • Cliff Lee, Indians
  • Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox
  • Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox
  • Mariano Rivera, Yankees
  • Francisco Rodriguez, Angels
  • Joe Saunders, Angels
  • Scot Shields, Angels
  • Joakim Soria, Royals

National League

First Basemen

  • Lance Berkman, Astros
  • Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
  • Ryan Howard, Phillies

Second Basemen

  • Mark DeRosa, Cubs
  • Dan Uggla, Phillies
  • Chase Utley, Phillies

Third Basemen

  • Chipper Jones, Braves
  • Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
  • David Wright, Mets

Shortstops

  • Cristian Guzman, Nationals
  • Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
  • Jose Reyes, Mets

Outfielders

  • Carlos Beltran, Mets
  • Ryan Braun, Brewers
  • Pat Burrell, Phillies
  • Adam Dunn, Diamondbacks
  • Matt Holliday, Rockies
  • Carlos Lee, Astros
  • Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals
  • Nate McLouth, Pirates
  • Alfonso Soriano, Cubs

Catchers

  • Russell Martin, Dodgers
  • Bengie Molina, Giants
  • Geovany Soto, Cubs

Designated Hitter

  • Albert Pujols, Cardinals

Pitchers

  • Chad Billingsley, Dodgers
  • Ryan Dempster, Cubs
  • Brad Lidge, Phillies
  • Tim Lincecum, Giants
  • Carlos Marmol, Cubs
  • Johan Santana, Mets
  • Jose Valverde, Astros
  • Edinson Volquez, Reds
  • Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
  • Brian Wilson, Giants
  • Kerry Wood, Cubs

Most of the position players were chosen based on statistics comparing the top eight position players in each league (hits, runs, home runs, rbi's, walks, strikeouts, stolen bases, caught stealing, and batting average). In most cases, the players I had chosen earlier due to the one person per team rule made the top three (with the only exception of the shortstop position in the NL).

In previous years, I tended to show a little more bias to Chicago players (on both sides) in cases where if I thought I could choose them over another person, I would (hey, I'm from Chicago, what can I say). And when I introduce the teams from previous years, you will see what I mean. But this year, because I am presenting them to the world, I thought I'd try to be as open minded as I can and pick the proper deserving players. And at the end of the choosing, I still wound up with four White Sox and six Cubs players on the teams. One person teams this year included the Athletics (Cust), Royals (Soria), Brewers (Braun), Nationals (Guzman), Padres (AGonzalez), Pirates (McLouth), Volquez (Reds), and Rockies (Holliday). The Cubs lead both teams in representatives with 7, the Angels, Red Sox, White Sox, Mets, and Phillies each have four players on the two teams.

So ends the presentation for my 2008 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams. Already in previous posts, I have had people already start commenting on my judgement. And that's the idea. Please feel free to comment, debate, tell me that I did a good job, or that I don't know what I'm talking about and should have put in this person for another (the guy from Fielder's Choice blog suggested I should have looked at Grant Balfour's numbers closer before I picked Scot Shields for example).

Let the debates continue. Again, during the off-season, I'll be looking back at past teams that I made up in my spare time. It'll be an experience for me to look back and see where my mind was at the time. And it will give me something to do before the 2009 Topps cards come out.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

No comments: