Today marks the beginning of the 2013 MLB All-Star break. Many of the most deserving players will represent their respective leagues in tomorrow night’s all star game. However, now that the rosters are set—including most, if not all, of the injury replacements—let’s take a look at a couple snubs in both the National League and American League.
I thought we could start with the most obvious snub—third basemen Josh Donaldson of the Oakland Athletics. Donaldson is currently having an outstanding season with a .310 BA, 16 HR, 61 RBIs and a .379 OBP. These are amazing numbers to have at the end of the first half and are even better than some of those chosen to attend the game ahead of him. The atrocity of Donaldson’s absence from the All-Star game can be summed up in one question:
How does the best hitter, on the best team in his division and the second best team in the American League, not make it into a game that displays the best players in baseball?
Here are all the categories in which Donaldson leads the Athletics (56-39), who are one game behind the Boston Red Sox (58-39) in the AL—batting average, homeruns, RBIs, on-base percentage, hits (107), runs (50), walks (40), doubles (23, in which he is tied for first with shortstop Jed Lowrie), slugging percentage (.522), and OPS (.900). Heck, if it weren’t for ridiculous seasons by Chris Davis (.315 BA, 37 HR, 93 RBI and .392 OBP) and Miguel Cabrera (.365 BA, 30 HR, 95 RBI and .458 OBP), Donaldson might win the AL MVP award.
In the National League, the snub is not as obvious—Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jay Bruce.
Bruce (.277 BA, 19 HR and 69 RBI .325) has been a driving force in the Reds lineup. He is quietly having a good year and may be going unnoticed by many for a couple reasons. While managers around the league definitely game plan for the left-handed power hitter, fans around the country may not know Brice exists in a line-up with headliners like former NL MVP Joey Votto (.315 BA, 15 HR, 42 RBI and .434 OBP) and one-man highlight reel Brandon Phillips (.266 BA, 12 HR, 74 RBI and .320 OBP.)
In addition, while Cincinnati is having a great year (53-42), they are still trailing two power house teams in the NL Central –the second place Pittsburgh Pirates (56-37) and the first place St. Louis Cardinals (56-37). The Cardinals and Pirates hold the first and second best records in all of the Major Leagues respectively.
Despite Bruce’s possible lack of popularity, his numbers speak for themselves. He is fifth in the NL is RBIs and tied for fifth with the Cardinals’ Carlos Beltran (.309 BA, 19 HR, 53 RBIs and .346 OBP) in homeruns.
There have been many debates discussing whether or not the fans should continue to have an All-Star vote. If the game is just an exhibition and does not mean that much, then things can be left as they are. However, if the All-Star game is truly an accolade and a way in which we honor the season’s best players, then the MLB needs to take action to make sure guys like Bruce and Donaldson can make it to the Midsummer Classic.
*Stats according to ESPN.com and MLB.com
