bdj610's End of Year MLB All-Star Teams: 2010 Edition

I've been promising to get this done since last October, and it is finally done. So while this seems to be way out of place with what is happening presently, since I have all the cards, it is just as well that I do this now, or it will never be done.

Twenty-four years ago (okay, realistically, 23 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. Last year, I shared with you what has been 23 years of my life. What started as a 12-year-old boy's fantasy has grown into a 35-year-old man's tradition. This blog now has a written record of every All-Star Team I created in my imagination. And 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 2010 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 Giants won it all in 2010, on the backs of extremely talented pitching, and with a roster that even they described as consisting of cast aways and rejects. They beat an even more inspiring (and inspired) Texas Rangers team to get there. In Chicago, both the Cubs and the White Sox had disappointing seasons, although the Pale Hose made it interesting for a while.

There are now 36 spots on each of the 2010 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 2010 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 Paul Konerko, White Sox Mark Teixeira, Yankees Second Basemen Robinson Cano, Yankees Chone Figgins, Mariners Howie Kendrick, Angels* Third Basemen Adrian Beltre, Red Sox Evan Longoria, Rays Alex Rodriguez, Yankees Shortstops Derek Jeter, Yankees Alexei Ramirez, White Sox* Marco Scutaro, Red Sox Outfielders Jose Bautista, Blue Jays* Shin-Soo Choo, Indians Carl Crawford, Rays Josh Hamilton, Rangers Torii Hunter, Angels Nick Markakis, Orioles Juan Pierre, White Sox Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners Delmon Young, Twins* Catchers John Buck, Blue Jays* Victor Martinez, Red Sox Joe Mauer, Twins Designated Hitter Vladimir Guerrero, Rangers Pitchers Daniel Bard, Red Sox* Trevor Cahill, Athletics* Neftali Feliz, Rangers* Felix Hernandez, Mariners Jon Lester, Red Sox* David Price, Rays* Mariano Rivera, Yankees CC Sabathia, Yankees Joakim Soria, Royals Rafael Soriano, Rays* Justin Verlander, Tigers Manager Joe Girardi, Yankees The Starters: 1B: Konerko 2B: Cano 3B: Longoria SS: Jeter OF: Bautista OF: Hamilton OF: Suzuki C: Mauer DH: Guerrero P: Sabathia *First-Time All-Star

National League First Basemen Aubrey Huff, Giants Albert Pujols, Cardinals Joey Votto, Reds* Second Basemen Martin Prado, Braves* Dan Uggla, Marlins Rickie Weeks, Brewers* Third Basemen Casey McGehee, Brewers* David Wright, Mets Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals Shortstops Stephen Drew, Diamondbacks* Hanley Ramirez, Marlins Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies Outfielders Ryan Braun, Brewers Andre Ethier, Dodgers* Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies* Corey Hart, Brewers* Matt Holliday, Cardinals Andrew McCutchen, Pirates* Hunter Pence, Astros* Justin Upton, Diamondbacks Jayson Werth, Phillies Catchers Brian McCann, Braves Yadier Molina, Cardinals Buster Posey, Giants* Designated Hitter Adrian Gonzalez, Padres Pitchers Mike Adams, Padres* Heath Bell, Padres Roy Halladay, Phillies Tim Hudson, Braves Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies Josh Johnson, Marlins Tim Lincecum, Giants Carlos Marmol, Cubs Billy Wagner, Braves Adam Wainwright, Cardinals Brian Wilson, Giants Manager Bud Black, Padres The Starters: 1B: Pujols 2B: Prado 3B: Wright SS: HRamirez OF: Braun OF: CGonzalez OF: Holliday C: McCann DH: AGonzalez P: Halladay

Including the 72 players listed above, 616 individual players have been named onto these teams. Nineteen 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, Roberto Alomar, Robin Yount, Ryne Sandberg, Tony Gwynn, and Wade Boggs). Ivan Rodriguez holds the record for most All-Star appearances with 14 (Ripken, Gwynn, Barry Larkin, and Derek Jeter each made 13 appearances). Jeter leads active players with 13 appearances, Alex Rodriguez and Vladimir Guerrero are next with 11 appearances each.

Twenty-three players are first-time all-stars (11 for the American League, 12 for the Nationals). One person teams this year included the Athletics (Cahill), Indians (Choo), Orioles (Markakis), Royals (Soria), Astros (Pence), Cubs (Marmol), Dodgers (Ethier), Mets (Wright), Nationals (Zimmerman), Pirates (McCutchen) and Reds (Votto). The Yankees lead all team in reps with 6 (including their entire starting infield). The Red Sox bring 5 players to the game. The Rays, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, and Giants each have four players on the two teams. The Chicago bias is not really a factor this year with only one Cub and three White Sox players on the teams (okay, there may have been one for the Sox).

As always, seven regular games (10,000 simulations each, six with the same starting pitchers, one where lineups and starting pitchers change) were a couple of weeks ago, and the All-Star Game will done last week (or so). The results will come by Monday, or as soon as I am able to scan everything(which should be made easier now that I have my All-Star player cards out and separated).

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama