(The following is being syndicated from The Captain’s Blog).
Despite garnering six All Star selections, three Yankees were conspicuous by their absence from the team. Both Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia currently rank among the top three players at their respective positions, according to fangraph’s WAR, while David Robertson sits atop all American League relievers in the category. If either or all three had been named to the team, it would have been justifiable.
If the Yankees had ended up with nine All Stars, it would have come within one of the franchise record, which was set in 1939 when 10 Bronx Bombers were selected. In that year’s game, the Yankees also fielded six starters, another franchise high. Even with six participants, the 2011 team ranks among the top quartile in terms of the number of players selected to the midseason classic.
Yankees’ All Star Selections by Year (click to enlarge)
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Although some Yankees fans might not be happy with six All Stars, especially after the team had eight in 2010, others might argue the team is lucky to have that many. In the mainstream media and among the more casual fan base, Russell Martin’s selection as a backup catcher is most likely to be called into question. However, Martin does rank third in WAR among A.L. catchers, so if three spots are allocated to the position, the Yankees’ backstop is certainly deserving.
Derek Jeter’s election as the starting short stop for the American League has been discredited by the sabermetric crowd. The future Hall of Famer’s struggles have been well documented, so his selection can’t be justified by first half statistics. However, nowhere in the voting bylaws does it mandate that criteria be used as a basis for inclusion. Since the game’s inception, legendary figures well past their prime have frequently been elected, so Jeter’s inclusion is well within precedent. It is, after all, a contest for all stars, and the Yankees’ short stop qualifies as one of the brightest in the game.
Robinson Cano is another Yankees’ All Star that could be disputed. Although Cano’s WAR of 2.6 is nothing to look down upon, he currently ranks fifth among A.L. second basemen. Like Jeter, however, albeit to a much lesser degree, Cano has established himself a bona fide star, so the combination of his current season statistics and impressive track record suggest that, if not a worthy starter, the Yankees’ second baseman is a deserving reserve.
Most Frequent Yankees’ All Star Starters, By Position
| Po. | Player | # |
| C | Yogi Berra | 11 |
| 1B | Lou Gehrig | 5 |
| 2B | Willie Randolph | 4 |
| 3B | Alex Rodriguez | 6 |
| SS | Derek Jeter | 8 |
| LF | Several | 1 |
| CF | Mickey Mantle | 12 |
| RF | Dave Winfield | 5 |
| P | Lefty Gomez | 5 |
Source: Baseball-reference.com
All things considered, there probably should be six Yankees jogging out to the foul line at Chase Field next Tuesday. However, some might argue for a different combination. That debate is part of the charm of All Star Game. Although the midseason exhibition has been met with increased cynicism over the years, the number of ballots cast and the volume of discussion about the selections suggest that the event is not only still relevant, but one of the highlights of the baseball season.
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6 Responses to Yanks Tally Six All Stars Despite Notable Snubs
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TIQ IQ
I like the Yankees having All-Stars in name, but in practice I’d rather they all get fake injuries. The best case scenario is a chance for Arod and Martin to rest, and Cano to not be in the derby. We can’t stop them, and I’m sure it’s an honor to them, but selfishly I care much more for the Yankees than I do the AL. Personally I’m flad CC got “snubbed”, he’s always a beast in the second half anyway, but I see no reason to add an inning or two to his year.
UH HUH…So Martin’s WAR makes up for the fact he’s like 17th in AL catchers in batting average …pitifully trying to scrape above mendoza and Jeter leads in the ‘brightest stars of the game’ catagory but no other offensive catagory and they should be included.
What a load of crap. Like Teixiera not going to the HR Derby because he didn’t qualify, Martin and Jeter should man up and step aside for players who deserve to be there,
How about the Yankee bat boys and peanut vendors???…surely Willi J you can provide us with some fluff or sabermagics to explain why they were snubbed.
Batting average is a rather worthless stat at this point. We have evolved past using such outdated stats. No longer do we consider some with a .300 average but a .320 OBP better than someone with a .260 average and a .370 OBP.
The days of having only average, home runs, and RBI are gone. Even the more old school guys are coming around that way of thinking. At this point teams aren’t even hiring managers who don’t know sabermetrics to some degree.
WAR is an important stat in this day and age, and is a much more indictive stat on performance than batting average.
Jeter clearly doesn’t belong in the All-Star game but no one is arguing otherwise. It’s obvioulsy more of a tip of the hat to his career, and 3000 hits.
I really don’t understand the stance against sabermetrics. It’s like we’ve gone back in time to a point where everything we don’t understand is scary magic. The same people who want part of advanced stats cling to the idea of batting average as if it isn’t a stat, and it’s some divine number. Its the same to me as the people who scoff at FIP but repeat ERA as gospel.
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I keep reading and hearing all sorts of stuff about how broken the All-Star game is, why it’s a joke, why having it determine the home-field advantage in the World Series is stupid, why the selection process is no good, and all the rest of it. I won’t argue otherwise. I just want to say that I like the game, and I like it for one reason: I have a rooting interest. I don’t (all that much) care who plays, I don’t mind that I’ve already seen the best players from both leagues facing each other, I don’t care that the rosters are too big, and the rest of it.
I just want the AL to win. I feel good when they do, and bad when they don’t. So I watch, and I take it seriously. It goes back to my childhood, coming as I do from a two-league baseball city, where I lived in NL territory but rooted for the AL team. In those days, the AL never won, and the NL fans never let me forget it.
So now they can choke on it! Go, AL! I LOVE the All-Star game!
YA should live chat the game.