BBA All-Star Voting
As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance it is required that I vote 4 times a year in regards to different matters relating to Major League Baseball. We vote on the following awards every calendar year:
–January: Hall of Fame vote. This vote is based on the official Hall of Fame ballot for the BBA recommendation of who should be selected.
–March: We vote for the Ring Lardner Award. This is given to the baseball writer who, along with quality writing, has a strong internet presence. (The always great Joe Posnanski won the award in 2011)
–June: All-Star Game voting, self explanatory.
–October: Post-Season awards. There are five awards voted on. Newbie of the Year (to correspond with the official Rookie of the Year), Skipper of the Year (Manager of the Year), Pitcher of the Year (Cy Young Award), Player of the Year (MVP Award), and Goose Gossage Award (given to top reliever in each league).
Considering that the All-Star game is in 15 days, it is that time of the year to post my personal All-Star votes for each league. Here are my choices for 2011. I am only voting on starting lineups, 1 starting pitcher and 1 relief pitcher. Anything else (reserves/bullpen/etc) would get incredibly tedious.
My 2011 AL All-Stars:
C Alex Avila, Tigers VIDEO
1B Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox VIDEO
2B Robinson Canó, Yankees VIDEO
3B Alex Rodriguez, Yankees VIDEO
SS Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians VIDEO (He should be an All-Star based on his defense alone, check this video)
OF Curtis Granderson, Yankees VIDEO
OF Jose Bautista, Blue Jays VIDEO
OF Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox VIDEO
DH David Ortiz, Red Sox VIDEO (Have you ever seen Big Papi steal a base before? Watch this video)
SP Justin Verlander, Tigers VIDEO (Verlander’s downright filthy start from this weekend, 14 K’s)
RP Mariano Rivera, Yankees VIDEO
My 2011 AL All-Stars:
C Brian McCann, Braves VIDEO
1B Prince Fielder, Brewers VIDEO (Prince hitting a triple, always fun to watch)
2B Brandon Phillips, Reds VIDEO (One of my favorite defensive plays of the year so far)
3B Chase Headley, Padres VIDEO
SS Jose Reyes, Mets VIDEO
OF Matt Kemp, Dodgers VIDEO
OF Ryan Braun, Brewers VIDEO
OF Matt Holliday, Cardinals VIDEO
DH Lance Berkman, Cardinals VIDEO
SP Roy Halladay, Phillies VIDEO
RP Joel Hanrahan, Pirates VIDEO (He BETTER make the All-Star game)
ninety feet of perfection. 