A Creative Take on the NL All-Star Ballot

At least in my opinion, it is always best to fill out an All-Star ballot in a capricious and arbitrary spirit, making at least one — and preferably several — logically indefensible votes along the way. Why? Because, marketing gimmicks aside, baseball doesn’t take the All-Star Game seriously. (If it did, there would be no rule mandating that lousy teams had to send at least one representative.) The voter most in keeping with the spirit of the thing is the 8-year-old who votes for his favorite team’s starting lineup, or for the fastest player at each position, or something similar. With this in mind, here’s the ballot I filled out for the National League. Objections that such-and-such player I didn’t vote for is actually better than such-and-such player I did vote for will completely miss the point.CatcherGeovany Soto, Cubs(.286 AVG/.370 OBA/.534 SLG)While he isn’t quite the hitter Atlanta’s Brian McCann is, and might not be quite the all-around player Los Angeles’s Russell Martin is, Soto is still an excellent player and, as far as I know, the only catcher in the National League to make the cover of an alt-weekly this year. Emerging seemingly from nowhere last year, he’s been one of the big factors in turning a drab Cubs team into the best in the league, and at 25, seems primed for a tremendous run over the next few years. He’s also one of the more entertaining plate-blockers in the league, an important criterion in my voting.First basePrince Fielder, Brewers(.280/.368/.479)Granting that he’s the fourth-best first baseman in his own division, Fielder gets my vote not just for being a terrific hitter, but for not eating meat. Little has made me happier this year than being able to tell my son that the massive slugger is a fellow vegetarian. Fielder is the kind of role model baseball needs, fueled by lentils and quinoa rather than mysterious potions cooked up in labs. Sadly, his new diet has been coincident with a notable drop in his power game, but have little doubt that he’ll be crushing home runs for years to come.Second baseMark Ellis, Athletics(.261/.348/.440)In my American League ballot, published earlier this week, I voted for Philadelphia’s Chase Utley as a protest against the sad state of junior-circuit second-sacking. As several commenters at Baseball Think Factory pointed out, though, this was completely unfair to Ellis, who’s having an exemplary season with the bat while playing his usual outstanding defense. I can only plead that I made a mistake, as Ellis is a wonderful and unfairly overlooked player, so I’ll correct the error by penciling him in here in Utley’s place. Note to Bud Selig: Having random players cross league lines for no real reason sounds like the sort of gimmick you’d just love.Third baseDavid Wright, Mets(.278/.370/.480)Yes, Wright is playing below his usual standards (he is a Met, after all), while Chipper Jones, the best hitter in the league over the last two years, is making a surprisingly serious run at .400. This makes no difference at all to me, because if I had to pick any player in the National League with whom to start a team, I would pick Wright, and therefore, he needs to be on my ballot. Given his freakish consistency, it’s a very sure bet that Wright will get very hot sometime soon and end the season with his usual numbers.ShortstopJose Reyes, Mets(.297/.359/.488)Amusingly, the often exasperating Reyes, victim of so much fan ire, is right now establishing himself as the best shortstop in baseball. Florida’s Hanley Ramirez’s batting line of .294/.384/.513 is better than Reyes’s, though not by enough to offset the wide difference in defense. Reyes is, I think, clearly better than every other shortstop in the game at this point. Whether fans will notice is an open question, but whatever the Mets’ problems are, Reyes isn’t one of them, no matter how absentminded or petulant he can be.Left fieldMatt Holliday, Colorado(.324/.407/.532)With Philadelphia’s Pat Burrell treating the entire National League the same way he’s treated the Mets; Pittsburgh’s Jason Bay reasserting himself after an off-year, and Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun the clear long-term pick at the position, this is a hard call. But Holliday is a fine player who represents the impossibly square-jawed and corn-fed defending pennant winners well. Note to Colorado: This man has hit 75 home runs at home in his career, and 36 on the road. His career road OPS is 306 points lower than his home mark. Trade him while you can!Center fieldCarlos Beltran, Mets(.271/.376/.474)As I’m not convinced that Pittsburgh’s Nate McLouth is more than a decent young player having a freakishly good first half (though I reserve the right to change my opinion), I’ll go with the established best player in the league at the position. Pitchfork-wielding Mets fans should remember that Wright, Reyes, and Beltran not only aren’t the problem — they’re the reason their team isn’t the San Francisco Giants. All can be better in various ways, but that’s true of everyone save maybe Albert Pujols, and he’s on the disabled list.Right fieldKosuke Fukudome, Chicago(.296/.403/.433)As the subject of several gloriously obscene shirts, Fukudome would have my vote even if he weren’t a superb player. But so he is. An on-base machine with a quick stroke that makes him vicious with runners on, and a defensive player who moves ably between two outfield spots, the longtime Chunichi Dragon lights up the game whenever he gets near the ball, and certainly deserves the full attention of a national audience next month. Don’t be fooled by St. Louis’s Ryan Ludwick, a serviceable backup having a delirious freak season so far — Fukudome is the real thing.tmarchman@nysun.com

A Creative Take on the NL All-Star Ballot

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