Results tagged ‘ Short Stop ’
2013 All-Star Game Ballot: The Players I Voted For
It seems a bit too early to be thinking about the 2013 All-Star game, which doesn’t take place until July 16th, but the ballots have already been released, allowing fans all across the 
country to cast their votes for who they want to see participate. Therefore, I figured I’d take the time to type up a blog post discussing who I voted for, and why I voted for them.
Keep in mind, with it being so early, I voted for players I felt would be the best at their position around the All-Star break; given their current stats and past history–there might be a little bit of favoritism thrown in their as well. The All-Star ballot is mostly a popularity vote, anyway. (If you’d like to cast your own vote, up to 25 times, CLICK HERE. But no hurry; you have until July 4th to do so.)
So, with all of that said, here’s my 2013 All-Star Game ballot:
FIRST BASE–Prince Fielder (AL) Joey Votto (NL)
For my American League vote, it came down to Prince Fielder and Mike Napoli. Normally, I would’ve voted for Fielder without a second thought, but Napoli has really been performing well this year, so I had to at least consider him. But in the end, I decided on Fielder, for his overall track record and defensive skills at first.
My vote also came down to two players in the National League: Joey Votto and Ryan Howard. Both are having good seasons so far, and both have great gloves at first base, but I voted for Votto, just because I feel he’s the better player at the current moment, and will probably be so in July.
SECOND BASE–Robinson Cano (AL) Brandon Phillips (NL)
I glanced at Dustin Pedroia’s stats for a few minutes, but for me, the AL portion of this vote is a no brainer. There’s no other second basemen in all of baseball with a better combination of power, range and overall defensive abilities than Robinson Cano. Thus, I voted for Cano, who should see himself taking part in his fourth straight All-Star game.
It would’ve been easy to pick Chase Utley for NL second basemen, with him having a great comeback season, but I couldn’t overlook Brandon Phillips. Though he doesn’t supply the same amount of power as Utley, Phillips still has some pop, but I picked him for his glove alone. Other than Cano, Phillips is the smoothest-looking second basemen in baseball.
SHORT STOP–Jed Lowrie (AL) Troy Tulowitzki (NL)
As much as I wanted to, and almost did anyway (why not?), I couldn’t vote for Derek Jeter to play short stop in this year’s All-Star game, for the AL. With the further setback to his ankle, there’s doubt that Jeter will even be back by then, thus he wouldn’t be able to participate. So I ended up settling on Jed Lowrie. He’s having a fairly good season thus far.
The National Leauge portion of the short stop position was far more difficult to decide. When you have guys like Starlin Castro, Troy Tulowitzki and Andrelton Simmons to choose from, it makes things difficult. But in the end, I went with Troy Tulowitzki, who, if he can keep up his hot start, should be a front-runner for comeback player of the year.
THIRD BASE–Miguel Cabrera (AL) David Wright (NL)
Choosing between guys like Miguel Cabrera, Manny Machado and Evan Longoria, the AL third basemen position took me the longest of them all to decide on, but I went with Miguel Cabrera. Having won the Triple Crown in 2012, and currently sitting just back of the leaders in average and RBI’s, Cabrera stands just above the rest.
I nearly went with Ryan Zimmerman for the NL third basemen, but I changed my vote to David Wright. Wright is one of the best defensive third basemen in all of baseball, and his ability to hit for average as well as power is unmatchable. Wright should easily make the cut to take part in his seventh career All-Star game.
CATCHER–J.P. Arencibia (AL) Buster Posey (NL)
Joe Mauer is having a better season so far than J.P. Arencibia, in terms of batting average, but I decided to vote for Arencibia, nonetheless. Arencibia has never participated in an All-Star game, in his three full season career, but I hope this year things turn out differently. He certainly has the talent, but it’s going to take continued success to make it.
This could’ve been somewhat of a difficult decision, having to choose between Brian McCann and Buster Posey, but given that McCann is yet to play in a game this season, I went with the obvious choice of Posey. On pace to have the best season of his career, Posey is sure to be behind the plate for his second straight All-Star game.
DESIGNATED HITTER–David Ortiz
Designated hitters, Travis Hafner, David Ortiz and Mark Trumbo are all having fantastic seasons so far, but going off of who is performing the best at the current moment, there’s no argument that it’s Ortiz. Considering the fact that he’s on a 23-game hit streak, dating back to last season, I’d say there’s no other DH who deserves a vote more than Ortiz.
OUTFIELD
It’s never easy to narrow down 47 players to just three, especially when you could make a strong case for a dozen of the outfield choices for each league, but it’s a requirement when casting a vote. So while I voted for the players who I felt were All-Star caliber players, there are a few more I would’ve liked to vote for, but couldn’t. Keep that in mind when reading the outfielders I selected for the AL and NL:
Mike Trout, Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Morse (AL)
There’s no doubt that both Mike Trout and Yoenis Cespedes are worthy of the All-Star game, however, Michael Morse is somewhat debatable. Even so, I voted for Morse to participate. I feel that although he doesn’t hit for a high average, nor does he make gold glove caliber plays, Morse is deserving of his first career All-Star game.
Bryce Harper, Justin Upton, Ryan Braun (NL)
Voting for Bryce Harper, Justin Upton and Ryan Braun meant leaving out players such as Matt Kemp, but I feel these three are most deserving of the All-Star game. All are off to great starts so far this season, each leading their team in home runs and RBI’s, and therefore, I felt each was worthy of my vote.
So there you have it: My 2013 All-Star game ballot. I might end up regretting a few of the players I voted for, as their stats might fall short of where I’m predicting them to be in July, however, it is what it is. I’d be happy with whoever participates.
2012 Silver Slugger Awards
Thursday night was the 32nd annual Silver Slugger Awards, which began in 1980.
The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball.
These voters consider several offensive categories in selecting the winners, including batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, in addition to “coaches’ and managers’ general impressions of a player’s overall offensive value. (Managers can not vote for their own players.)
Below is a list of the NL and AL 2012 Silver Slugger Award winners. I’ve included my opinions as well as some facts that I found interesting:
OUTFIELD
Most Silver Slugger Awards: Barry Bonds holds the record for the most Silver Slugger Awards as an outfielder, with twelve.
NL Winners: Andrew McCutchen (1st S.S. award), Jay Bruce (1st S.S. award) and Ryan Braun (5th S.S. award).
AL Winners: Mike Trout (1st S.S. award), Josh Hamilton (3rd S.S. award) and Josh Willingham (1st S.S. award).
Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, Mike Trout and Josh Willingham are all first time recipients of the Silver Slugger award. Putting up impressive stats throughout the 2012 season, they’re all worthy, thus I fully agree with the voters’ picks. I also agree with the selections of Ryan Braun and Josh Hamilton for the award, as both had career best years in many categories. This is Braun’s 5th straight Silver Slugger, and Hamilton’s 3rd career award.
FIRST BASE
Most Silver Slugger Awards: Todd Helton is tied with Albert Pujols for the most Silver Slugger Awards as a first baseman, with four.
NL Winner- Adam LaRoche (1st S.S. award)
AL Winner- Prince Fielder (3rd S.S. award)
Adam LaRoche earned his first career Silver Slugger award by posting a .271 batting average with 33 home runs and 100 RBI’s this past season. While LaRoche was impressive, Prince Fielder was even more impressive, as he batted .313 with 30 homers and 108 RBI’s. The thing that really jumps out at me about Fielder is that he was able to compile 108 RBI’s while spending the year batting behind the Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera (who recorded 139 RBI’s of his own). That’s absolutely mind boggling, and so I fully agree with him winning his second straight Slugger.
SECOND BASE
Most Silver Slugger Awards: Ryne Sandberg holds the record for the most Silver Slugger Awards as a second baseman, with seven.
NL Winner- Aaron Hill (2nd S.S. award)
AL Winner- Robinson Cano (4th S.S. award)
Aaron Hill took home his 2nd career Silver Slugger award, batting .302 with 26 home runs and 85 RBI’s this season. There were a few other National League candidates I felt were just as worthy of the award, but I can’t say I disagree with the selection of Hill. As far as Cano goes, he once again led all American League second basemen in the major categories, and as a result, won his third straight Slugger award.
THIRD BASE
Most Silver Slugger Awards: Wade Boggs holds the record for the most Silver Slugger Awards as a third baseman, with eight.
NL Winner- Chase Headley (1st S.S. award)
AL Winner- Miguel Cabrera (4th S.S. award)
Chase Headley was the shock of this years awards for me. It wasn’t that he didn’t deserve it–I mean, he put up great stats–but I didn’t expect him to beat out the other candidates. But hey, congratulations to him. As far as Miguel Cabrera goes, he was a no brainer to win. Cabrera led all American League batters in home runs, RBI’s and batting average, so it was no surprise when he received his 4th career Silver Slugger award.
SHORT STOP
Most Silver Slugger Awards: Barry Larkin holds the record for the most Silver Slugger Awards as a short stop, with nine.
NL Winner- Ian Desmond (1st S.S. award)
AL Winner- Derek Jeter (5th S.S. award)
Ian Desmond posted some impressive numbers this season, earning him his 1st career Silver Slugger award. He came through in the clutch a lot for the Nationals, and proved to be one of the best hitting short stops of the 2012 season. The American League portion saw Derek Jeter taking home his 5th career Slugger, which was no shock. Jeter led all of baseball in hits (the 3rd oldest to ever do so), and most deserved the award.
CATCHER
Most Silver Slugger Awards: Mike Piazza holds the record for the most Silver Slugger Awards as a catcher, with ten.
NL Winner- Buster Posey (1st S.S. award)
AL Winner- A.J. Pierzynski (1st S.S. award)
If Chase Headley was the shock of this year’s awards, A.J. Pierzynski was the second greatest surprise. Many had Joe Mauer winning the award (myself included) but it was Pierzynski winning his first career Silver Slugger. While the AL winner was somewhat of a surprise, the National League winner Buster Posey was just the opposite. Posey put up MVP caliber numbers, and thus was able to win his first career Slugger award.
PITCHER
Most Silver Slugger Awards: Mike Hampton holds the record for the most Silver Slugger Awards as a pitcher, with five.
Winner- Stephen Strasburg (1st S.S. award)
Pitchers aren’t really known for their offense, but there are a few who can actually hit. None more so in 2012 than Stephen Strasburg who was able to record 13 hits in 47 at-bats, which comes out to a .277 batting average. In addition, Strasburg amassed 7 RBI’s, including his first career homer, making him the most deserving of the Slugger award among pitchers.
DESIGNATED HITTER
Most Silver Slugger Awards: David Ortiz holds the record for the most Silver Slugger Awards as a Designated Hitter, with five.
Winner- Billy Butler (1st S.S. award)
Posting a batting average of .313 with 29 home runs and 107 RBI’s, Billy Butler proved to be the most consistent Designated Hitter of the 2012 season, earning him his first career Silver Slugger award. Comparing Butler’s stats to the other DH’s throughout baseball, he was the most deserving of them all, so I agree with the voters.
2012 SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS FAST FACTS
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There were 11 first time Silver Slugger winners.
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Robinson Cano, Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun were the only winners who also won a Silver Slugger last year.
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The Nationals had the most winners of any team, with three.
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There were four Silver Slugger winners who also won Gold Glove awards this year.
- Derek Jeter received a 1.5 million dollar bonus for winning the award.
Matt Huddleston
