Our 2011 All-Star ballot
Invoking the principle of the last responsible moment — “polls” close this Thursday — we present our 2011 All-Star ballot:
| Po | National | American |
| C | Brian McCann | Carlos Santana |
| 1B | Prince Fielder | Adrian Gonzalez |
| 2B | Rickie Weeks | Dustin Pedroia |
| SS | Jose Reyes | Alexei Ramirez |
| 3B | Chase Headley | Kevin Youkilis |
| OF | Ryan Braun | Ben Zobrist |
| OF | Matt Kemp | Curtis Granderson |
| OF | Lance Berkman | Jose Bautista |
Some notes:
- As much as it hurt to vote for two Brewers, but Fielder and Weeks were both such clear choices that it was difficult not to (Fielder leads Joey Votto in WAR, 3.8-3.5, and Weeks leads Danny Espinosa, 3.6-3.1).
- With all due respect to Chase Headley, you know it’s a down year for NL third basemen when he leads at the position with 137 wRC+. Where have you gone, Mike Schmidt?
- For outfielders, we preferred total run production (as represented by wRC+) to defense and positional skill (as represented by WAR). In the NL, those three are the top three outfielders in the league in wRC+, and it just so happens that they play LF, CF and RF.
- True, Alex Avila is having the best half-season at AL catcher, but we still consider Carlos Santana the best in the league, especially given his unfortunate .249 BABIP.
- No, we don’t vote for designated hitters. What, this surprises you?