I have
never given too much weight to the starting members of an All-Star team. The voting of the fans often leads to the
most popular player being selected over the most worthy player, and like Gold
Gloves often are, being selected to an All Star game is often a process where
previous award winners are grandfathered in, sometimes long after their skills
are worthy of recognition. Just ask
Scott Rolen. I loved the guy when he
played for the Cardinals, but how does someone find their way into an All Star
starting lineup in a year that he hits .242?
The National League, you can be sure had more qualified hitters at that
time. The MLB All Star game is a fun
game, and although we have been told so many times by so many people that it
now counts for so much more, I do not believe for a second that the players all
truly buy into this.
All this
being said, I cannot help but be disappointed in the voting this year. If I were to create an All Star team based on
which players have the coolest baseball sounding names, I think I would vote
Buster Posey to play catcher, and I would probably cast a write in vote for him
to play every other position on the field too.
I mean really, could there be any better name than Buster for a catcher
in the Major Leagues? And on top of his
name, the guy is an amazing player. He
anchors the middle of the San Francisco Giants’ lineup and is in position to
drive in as many runs as he can. As far
as young and exciting players go, Posey is in the top dozen in the Major
Leagues. There is no doubt that he is an
All Star, and he will be the incumbent All Star in the years to come for a long
time if he is able to stay healthy.
He is not
even close to the best catcher in the league this year though. After three years of Yadier Molina being an
All Star, he is more deserving this year than ever. Yadier Molina is a catcher who has always had
defensive skills that will one day give him consideration for Hall of Fame voting,
and we have been privileged enough to see him mature into offensive skills to
match these talents. This season, Yadier
Molina is leading Buster Posey in literally every offensive category other than
RBI’s which he trails by only one after hitting deep in the Cardinals order for
much of the season compared to the heart of the Giants’ batting order for Posey.
And while
it is not as sexy as the offensive statistics, there is no disputing that
Molina is the superior defensive player.
Watching Molina play defense is an experience approaching nirvana. It has gotten to the point where I find
myself wishing people would try to steal every time they get on base just so that
I get a chance to watch Molina throw a baseball down to second. The All Star game is meant to be a game where
the top talents in baseball are on display, and there is literally no argument that
could be made in support of Buster Posey over Yadier Molina.
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