bdj610's 2009 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...Every Team Needs a Representative

With the pitching staffs set in our last All-Star Team post, the next step is to make sure that every team gets at least one representative. I believe in the All-Star rule that every team, no matter how well or how poorly they did, has at least one person they could tag as an All-Star, based on his performance on the field. If it means that another person gets snubbed, that's sadly the way it goes. It does not matter how many spots there are on an All-Star team, someone always manages to be left out.

Now the pitching staffs from both sides locked in one representative from eight of the NL teams and eight of the AL teams, pretty much half the teams in either league. So that means in this post, I am going to name eight position players in the NL, and six in the AL.

In the NL, the Braves, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Dodgers, Cardinals, Padres, and Giants have representatives. These eight players will ensure that the NL has all 16 teams represented:

• 3B Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks (.260, 44 HR's, 102 RBI's)
• 1B Derrek Lee, Cubs (.306, 35 HR's, 111 RBI's)
• SS Miguel Tejada, Astros (.313, 14 HR's, 86 RBI's)
• OF Ryan Braun, Brewers (.320, 32 HR's, 114 RBI's)
• 2B Luis Castillo, Mets (.302, 1 HR's, 40 RBI's)
• 1B Ryan Howard, Phillies (.279, 45 HR's, 141 RBI's)
• 3B Andy Laroche, Pirates (.258, 12 HR's, 64 RBI's)
• OF Adam Dunn, Nationals (.267, 38 HR's, 105 RBI's)

Let me first say that filling out the corner infield spots for the NL is going to be the very challenging. Four of the six available slots are filled, and guys like Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and Adrian Gonzalez are still in the hunt for the final 1B spot while Ryan Zimmerman, David Wright, and Pablo Sandoval are in contention for the final 3B spot. Someone is going to be left out (and I'm going to be in big trouble by the time I'm finished...). What am I supposed to do, add an extra spot for each position? Not happening. But I can tell you this, one of the four players not chosen is going to wind up as the National League's "designated hitter," so your favorite player still has a shot at making the team.

On the American League side, the Red Sox, Tigers, Royals, Angels, Twins, Yankees, Mariners, and Blue Jays, have representatives. These six players will ensure that the AL has all 14 teams represented:

• OF Nick Markakis, Orioles (.293, 18 HR's, 101 RBI's)
• C A. J. Pierzynski, White Sox (.300, 13 HR's, 49 RBI's)
• OF Shin-Soo Choo, Indians (.300, 20 HR's, 86 RBI's)
• OF Jack Cust, Athletics (.240, 25 HR's, 70 RBI's, could wind up being the AL's DH)
• 1B Carlos Peña, Rays (.227, 39 HR's, 100 RBI's)
• OF Nelson Cruz, Rangers (.260, 33 HR's, 76 RBI's)

Because I have nine outfield spots on each side, I have noticed that many players who wind up being the only person on their team to make the list normally is an outfielder. And that might be the case here with these AL picks as now four of the slots are filled.

Now before you start to say, "Where's this guy?" or, "Why didn't my guy make the team?" Please keep in mind that I'm not done filling out the team. These 14 guys are only here so that all 30 teams have a player. The best (trust me) is still yet to come.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama