bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 2009 Edition

Twenty-three years ago (okay, realistically, 22 years ago), I started collecting Topps Baseball Cards. And and the end of the season, I would name players to my personal All-Star Teams. During the past off-season, I shared with you what has been 22 years of my life. What started as a 12-year-old boy's fantasy has grown into a 34-year-old man's tradition. And this blog now has a written record of every All-Star Team I created. And to make my fantasies become a reality, thanks to the Strategic Baseball Simulation program (or SBS), I've not only been able to share my teams with you, but also pitted them against each other in an All-Star Game, to see which team was the better of the two. I have been surprised by many of the results, and am happy with what has become a lifelong dream. Today, I re-introduce my 2009 End of the Year All-Star Teams. These were the last pair of teams I created on this humble, little blog, and as long as I am able, I will continue to create these teams and share them with whoever stumbles upon this site.

The year 2009 saw the return to the promised land for the New York Yankees. After spending most of the decade since the 2000 World Series (and a lot of money to go in free agents), the Bombers won their 27th World Series against the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies. In Chicago, both the Cubs and the White Sox had disappointing seasons. Even though the Cubs had a winning record, they failed to make it into the postseason. They came in with high expectations, even win it all (as usual). But the Cardinals surprised everyone (except their fans) and with the help of timely acqusitions like Matt Holliday, ended the Cubs' two-year Division win streak. The Sox didn't fare so well. Thanks to injuries to key players and just sometimes extremely rotten luck, the Pale Hose wree finding ways to lose games that they seemingly had in hand. Needless to say, it was a rough season. They did have their share of bright spots, including the emergence of Gordon Beckham.

There are now 36 spots on each of the 2009 rosters (the number has stayed the same since 2006). Both teams get: 3 first basemen, 3 second basemen, 3 third basemen, 3 shortstops, 9 outfielders (regardless of position), 3 catchers, 1 designated hitter, 6 starting pitchers, 1 middle relief pitcher, and 4 closers. The rule that every team gets a representative remains after all these years. And regardless of what league hosts the ASG, there will be a DH chosen. Now regardless of what league hosts the ASG, there will be a DH chosen. In cases where an AL team is hosting (the 2010 game returns to Anaheim at what is now known as Angels Stadium), the DH will be part of the lineup. In cases where the NL is hosting (as was the case with the previous series), the DH will be used as a pinch hitter when needed.

Without further ado, for the first time online, I am proud to introduce my 2008 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams (in alphabetical order by position):

(haven't we seen these guys before???)

American League First Basemen Miguel Cabrera, Tigers Carlos Peña, Rays Mark Teixeira, Yankees Second Basemen Robinson Cano, Yankees Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox Aaron Hill, Blue Jays* Third Basemen Chone Figgins, Angels* Evan Longoria, Rays Michael Young, Rangers Shortstops Jason Bartlett, Rays* Derek Jeter, Yankees Marco Scutaro, Blue Jays* Outfielders Bobby Abreu, Angels Jason Bay, Red Sox Shin-Soo Choo, Indians* Carl Crawford, Rays Nelson Cruz, Rangers* Jack Cust, Athletics Nick Markakis, Orioles Magglio Ordoñez, Tigers Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners Catchers Victor Martinez, Red Sox Joe Mauer, Twins A. J. Pierzynski, White Sox Designated Hitter Adam Lind, Blue Jays* Pitchers Josh Beckett, Red Sox Brian Fuentes, Angels* Zack Grienke, Royals* Matt Guerrier, Twins* Roy Halladay, Blue Jays Felix Hernandez, Mariners* Joe Nathan, Twins Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox Mariano Rivera, Yankees CC Sabathia, Yankees Justin Verlander, Tigers Manager Ron Washington, Rangers The Starters: 1B: Teixeira 2B: Hill 3B: Longoria SS: Jeter OF: Bay OF: Ordoñez OF: Suzuki C: Mauer DH: Lind P: Hernandez *First-Time All-Star

National League First Basemen Ryan Howard, Phillies Derrek Lee, Cubs Albert Pujols, Cardinals Second Basemen Luis Castillo, Mets Brandon Phillips, Reds Chase Utley, Phillies Third Basemen Andy Laroche, Pirates* Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks* Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals* Shortstops Hanley Ramirez, Marlins Miguel Tejada, Astros Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies* Outfielders Ryan Braun, Brewers Adam Dunn, Nationals Brad Hawpe, Rockies Raul Ibañez, Phillies Matt Kemp, Dodgers* Carlos Lee, Astros Justin Upton, Diamondbacks* Shane Victorino, Phillies* Jayson Werth, Phillies* Catchers Brian McCann, Braves Bengie Molina, Giants Yadier Molina, Cardinals* Designated Hitter Pablo Sandoval, Giants* Pitchers Jeremy Affeldt, Giants* Heath Bell, Padres Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers* Chris Carpenter, Cardinals Francisco Cordero, Reds Ryan Franklin, Cardinals* Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies* Josh Johnson, Marlins* Tim Lincecum, Giants Javier Vasquez, Braves* Adam Wainwright, Cardinals* Manager Fredi Gonzalez, Marlins The Starters: 1B: Pujols 2B: Utley 3B: Zimmerman SS: HRamirez OF: Braun OF: Ibañez OF: Werth C: YMolina DH: Sandoval P: Wainwright

Including the 72 players listed above, 593 individual players have been named onto these teams. Eighteen of them are now Hall of Famers (Andre Dawson, Carlton Fisk, Cal Ripken, Dave Winfield, Dennis Eckersley, Eddie Murray, Gary Carter, George Brett, Kirby Puckett, Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, Paul Molitor, Rickey Henderson, Robin Yount, Ryne Sandberg, Tony Gwynn, and Wade Boggs). Ivan Rodriguez holds the record for most All-Star appearances with 14 (Barry Larkin, Ripken, and Gwynn each made 13 appearances). Derek Jeter leads active players with 12 appearances, Alex Rodriguez & Manny Ramirez are behind him with 10 appearances each (the recently retired Ken Griffey, Jr. appeared 11 times).

Twenty-eight players are first-time all-stars (11 for the American League, 17 for the Nationals). One person teams this year included the Athletics (Cust), Indians (Choo), Orioles (Markakis), Royals (Grienke), White Sox (Pierzynski), Brewers (Braun), Cubs (DLee), Mets (Castillo), Padres (Bell), and Pirates (LaRoche). The Red Sox, Yankees, Cardinals, and Phillies each have 5 players on the two teams, sharing the lead for most representatives. The Blue Jays, Rays, and Giants each have four players on the two teams. Unlike last year when there were 11 Chicago players on the teams, each Chi-town team sends one player each.

As always, seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, six with the same starting pitchers, one where lineups and starting pitchers change), and one All-Star Game will be simulated during the course of the week. I hope to have the results of all the games by the end of the week.

Now it's time for me to create the .DAT files before getting the games set. Game results coming this weekend so it doesn't interfere when this blog goes into All-Star Game mode during the next two weeks. Here's hoping that I don't take too long with this...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama