We are officially less than a week away from the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
The 81st annual midseason exhibition will definitely be one to watch, as there are several dynamics to look forward to: a cluster of new faces, a bunch of superstars coming back, and the question of whether or not the National League can beat the American League for the first time in since 1996.
With that being said, there is one experienced veteran who is probably not going to see his name on the roster. He has made six consecutive All-Star appearances, and would love to see his streak continue with a seventh this year.
He is none other than the Texas Rangers’ Michael Young.
To this date, the 33-year old California native is on the verge of making it to the 200-hit plateau for the sixth time of his career.
Not only is he presently fourth in hits in the American League (106), but he is also ranked sixth in total bases (170), 10th in extra-base hits (38), and ninth in runs scored (56). He’s also hitting .306 with 12 home runs and 53 RBI.
“I love going to the All-Star Game,” Young said. “I have a great time every time I go. But we have five guys. Whether I go or not, it never changes, my goal. It’s always to have a big year and help our team win as many games as I can.”
Young finished in third place among third basemen in this year’s voting, behind Evan Longoria and Alex Rodriguez, respectively.
Four years ago, Young was the hero for the American League winners, hitting a game-winning two-run triple in the top of the ninth inning. That earned him the prestigious Ted Williams MLB All-Star MVP that year.
Young has quietly made a name for himself as one of the best contact hitters in the game today. His stellar offensive season so far for the Rangers has helped keep the franchise in first place in the American League West—not to mention lead them to the best 75-game start in franchise history.
And here is a fun fact: Michael Young’s six appearances in a row are third-most among active players, only behind Ichiro (10) and Albert Pujols (8).
However, when it comes to the 2010 All-Star Game, there is almost no chance of him making it off the Final Vote ballot.
Although he is a hitting machine, Young is surprisingly not needed to represent the American League. As consistent and productive as Young has been, there are three third basemen who deserve to be in the All-Star Game more than Young.
But what is coincidental is that all three All-Star third basemen play for the top three teams in the American League East. Let’s take a look at the third basemen who have already team.
First in line is Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays, who is leading his team in a push for a possible playoff berth with 13 homers and 61 RBI.
His WAR (wins above replacement) is also fifth in the American League. His power, speed, and defense continue to make this young star one of the best in the game. There is no way Michael Young is making the All-Star game if E-Longlorious doesn’t.
Another man at the hot corner playing in the All-Star game is a man who puts up big numbers year after year: Alex Rodriguez.
He is making his 13th appearance at the midsummer classic, and rightfully so. Third in the American League with 67 RBI, A-Rod just keeps piling up numbers which epitomizes why he is one of the best to ever play the game.
Unless he had missed a significant part of the first half, it would have been shocking if A-Rod didn’t put up a decent season and find himself in the All-Star game.
Rounding out the list is Adrian Beltre, who is contributing quite well to the Boston Red Sox’s run for the playoffs.
His first All-Star appearance is well deserved, as he has maintained a .334 batting average (good for fifth in the American League) and has hit 12 homers and brought in 54 runs.
Not only is he in the top five in batting average so far, but he is currently in the top five in hits (105), doubles (25), and range factor (both per game and per nine innings); he’s also in the top ten in total bases (168) and extra-base hits (38). Statistically, he is arguably the most successful Red Sox player offensively.
Does Michael Young deserve to be on the All-Star roster instead of Beltre? No.
But teammate Ian Kinsler doesn’t agree.
“Numbers-wise, he’s probably better than two of the guys who are going. I don’t know what Longoria’s numbers are or Alex’s but I can’t believe they’re better than Mike’s. He’s the leader of our team. He’s basically the glue that keeps our team together. All of us want him to go.”
Letting go of the aspect that the American League is already loaded with decent third basemen, there are still several reasons why Michael Young doesn’t stand a chance in winning the Final Vote. Take a look at the other four players in competition with him: Kevin Youkilis, Nick Swisher, Paul Konerko, and Delmon Young.
Youkilis and Swisher are currently neck and neck, and Paul Konerko recently passed Michael Young for third place on the ballot. My guess is that Young is going to be fourth on the list once the final results come out. With the huge Red Sox and Yankees fanbases, and the years that both Swisher and Youkilis have put up so far, I’d be shocked if one of them didn’t win it.
Personally, I believe that Kevin Youkilis deserve the nod out of all five of them. We’ll just see what happens.
He’s had a marvelous year, leading the league in runs scored (66) and cracking the top five in a myriad of statistics, including: wins above replacement (3.3), on-base percentage (.409), slugging percentage (.574), on-base plus slugging percentage (.983), walks (51), adjusted OPS (156), runs created (71), adjusted batting wins (2.3), offensive winning percentage (.764), and win probability added (2.6)…not to mention that he is a spectacular defensive first baseman.
If that’s not enough for you, I don’t know what is.
The Rangers are doing everything they can to get Michael Young as much support as possible. The Rangers and Nationals just announced a voting alliance—the “Third Base Ticket”—that they hope will benefit Young and Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman. This was after finding out that Nick Swisher is using his Twitter account to do the same thing.
“If I was making a commercial, I wouldn’t be in it. I’d hire someone to do it,” Young said. “That’s really not my style. I’ve been really fortunate that all the fans here in Texas have been so supportive of me. So we’ll see how it all shakes out. I’d love to go, but I’m not going to do any campaigning or anything like that.”
He went on saying that he’d be honored to go, and that the All-Star Game is always a lot of fun.
Will Young be the third consecutive third baseman to win the AL Final Vote, following Brandon Inge last year and Evan Longoria the year before? There are several reasons why one would vote for him, but are they good enough to beat the other four on the list?
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