Post by Captain America on Jul 18, 2014 16:48:45 GMT -5
Most of the All-Stars this season were well deserving, but there were some notable snubs as well.
Unlike the end of season awards, OOTP usually gets at least most of the deserving All-Stars correct for the All-Star Game each season. However, it seems like this season, there may have been a few more noticeable snubs than usual. I mean, no one is perfect and certainly OOTP isn't either, but it was unfortunate to see some of the better players this season miss out on the All-Star Game and their respective GM's miss out on a little extra board cash.
Before we get to the top 10 though, here are a few honorable mentions (in no particular order of course):
- SP Rocky Biddle (ANA)
- 1B Jack Cust (BAL)
- DH Adam Dunn (CLE)
- 1B Prince Fielder (CHW)
- RF Kosuke Fukudome (CLE)
- LF Alex Gordon (SD)
- RF Garret Jones (SD)
- 1B Paul Konerko (CLE)
- SP Mike Lincoln (PIT)
- LF Angel Pagan (MIL)
- CL Jose Valverde (PHI)
- 1B Jason Varitek (BOS)
- CL Hyoushirou Yaichiro (MIL)
And now the top 10!
10. SS Alexei Ramirez (MON)
bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/Site/p3398.html
We'll start with one of the better NL shortstops this season in Alexei Ramirez. Ramirez has been one of the most surprising players this season with a .346 average, which is currently 3rd in the NL. That average alone could potentially be good enough to become an All-Star, but the fact that Ramirez has been no more than a doubles hitter this season may not have helped the cause. He also has 21 steals, but has been caught 12 times, so that could have hurt his chances as well. We won't know for sure. All in all, Ramirez should have been worthy of becoming an All-Star, but it's not like he was the most qualified NL shortstop out there anyway...
9. SS Hanley Ramirez (PIT)
bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/Site/p1657.html
Finally reaching his full rating potential, Hanley Ramirez is on pace to put together a career season. He currently ranks 9th in the NL in slugging, 9th in OPS, 9th in runs created, 10th in runs scored, tied for 5th in extra base hits and 10th in total bases. This is also partially a reflection of OOTP choosing Luis Rivas as the only NL shortstop this season and Ramirez would've clearly been the most worthy All-Star backup shortstop. I will never understand why OOTP sometimes doesn't choose multiple All-Stars at certain positions each season, but Hanley deserved to make it and logically speaking, he really should have.
8. SP Joe Smith (OAK)
bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/Site/p3239.html
One of the few bright spots for the rebuilding A's this season has been Joe Smith, who is currently 2nd in the AL in ERA and tied for 1st in quality starts. Yet because he only has 5 wins, this is most likely why OOTP didn't include him among the All-Stars, which is silly because the A's currently don't have good enough run support to help Smith pick up more wins. Smith's WHIP is also a stingy 0.96. We all know OOTP overvalues wins in comparison to ERA and quality starts, but this is just ridiculous. Smith should have easily been an All-Star this season.
7. SP Jake Peavy (ARZ)
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Jake Peavy has been one of the best NL pitchers this season. Although only a certain number of pitchers can be selected for the All-Star team each season, Peavy was one that deserved to make it but missed the cut. To be fair though, there was a lot of competition among NL pitchers as we will see very soon. Peavy currently ranks 10th in the NL in quality starts and tied for 8th in ERA at 2.22. He also has 9 wins in 20 starts and has been a huge part of the Diamondbacks' newfound success this season. So while Peavy may not have necessarily been as strong of a candidate as some of the other NL pitchers right now, he should have still gotten in based on his stats.
6. SP Mark Prior (PIT)
bbs56.net/BBSBL3/BBSBL3/Site/p1088.html
Yet another Pirate got snubbed from making the All-Star team as well. That would be Mark Prior, whose numbers are very similar to that of Peavy (same ERA and only 2 more quality starts with 19, which is tied for 2nd in NL), yet the fact that Prior already has 15 wins makes this snub even more surprising. Prior is also 10th in the NL in strikeouts with 118. There is no reason why he shouldn't have been an All-Star and this was a big fail by OOTP...but still not the biggest fail.
5. 1B Ryan Howard (FLO)
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As if the Marlins didn't already have a ton of All-Stars this season, they should have had one more in Ryan Howard. Howard right now is 2nd in the NL in home runs, 2nd in RBI, and tied for 8th in total bases. It seems as if OOTP simply felt David Ortiz and Justin Morneau were more deserving among NL 1B, and both of them were quite deserving themselves. But Howard still should have gotten in one way or another. It is a tough competition each season now between NL first basemen making the All-Star team, but Howard had the numbers this season and it's a shame he got snubbed the way he did.
4. 2B Ruben Gotay (ARZ)
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How does the NL home run leader not make the All-Star team? That is just mind boggling. Nomar Garciaparra of the Marlins was the only second baseman to make the All-Star team, yet three third basemen (Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista and Aaron Boone) all got in, which is ridiculous. Why aren't the All-Star spots balanced for each position? It makes absolutely no sense and it's really sad because Gotay has been one of the two team MVP's thus far for the Diamondbacks, along with Justin Morneau.
And Gotay certainly had the numbers. Not only is he leading the NL with 24 home runs, he is also 6th in RBI, 6th in slugging percentage and tied for 8th in total bases. Again, why OOTP only selected one second baseman for the NL is beyond me and Gotay should have easily been an All-Star.
3. SP Carlos Zambrano (STL)
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17 quality starts out of 18 starts. 1.96 ERA. Yet Big Z does not become an All-Star. Something isn't adding up here. Yes, he only has 9 wins and OOTP loves those wins, but still, Zambrano not being an All-Star is ridiculous. He is the heart and soul of the Cardinals' pitching and any ERA under 2.00 at the All-Star break should pretty much lead to a pitcher automatically becoming an All-Star. But Big Z wasn't the only great pitcher with an ERA under 2.00 to get snubbed badly...
2. SP Johan Santana - Chicago Cubs
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If Big Z snubbed was really sad, then Johan Santana getting snubbed was a travesty. My goodness. Santana has 12 wins, a miniscule 1.81 ERA, 18 quality starts, 3 shutouts and 102 strikeouts, yet does not become an All-Star. That is completely fucked up to be honest. There isn't a single legitimate reason why Santana shouldn't have been an All-Star. He was clearly more deserving than at least two or three of the NL All-Star pitchers and it's just crazy that he didn't get in. But even then, there was another snub that was just as puzzling, if not even more puzzling.
1. LF Matt Holliday - Tampa Bay Rays
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Holliday's case is interesting because he got injured right before the All-Star break. So was that the actual reason why he wasn't an All-Star? Or was there actually more to it than just that? Hopefully not, because Holliday is again one of the top AL MVP contenders this season and has all the numbers too.
Holliday is now 2nd in the AL in average, 1st in OBP, 2nd in slugging percentage, 1st in OPS, 1st in runs created and runs created/27, tied for 4th in hits, tied for 5th in home runs, 5th in RBI, 3rd in runs scored, 5th in walks, tied for 6th in extra-base hits and 2nd in total bases. Yeah he had all the numbers to be an All-Star and some. Again, Holliday almost certainly would have been an All-Star if not for the untimely injury, but regardless of the injury, he still should have been a no-brainer selection. And if OOTP completely discards current injuries for All-Star consideration, then that's really unfortunate. Either way, Holliday should have definitely been an All-Star this season and there is no second guessing involved.
