So, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez were voted by the fans to start for the National League in the All-Star Game.
No surprise there.
The real drama on Selection Sunday (All-Star version) was whether Ryan Howard would make the team. It's not that Howard wasn't worthy. I mean, 20 homers and 60 RBIs are nothing to sneeze at. But, in the NL, first base is an ultra-talented position. Albert Pujols (.336/.460/.744, 31 HR, 82 RBIs through Saturday night) was voted to start, and deservedly so. No NL player has been as good as Pujols, an MVP candidate every year. Howard had an ally in the manager's office (Charlie Manuel is skippering the NL team this year), but it was impossible to ignore the candidacies of Prince Fielder (21 HR, 75 RBIs) and Adrian Gonzalez (24 HR, 50 RBIs).
And, really, how many first basemen can one team, even an All-Star team, have?
In the end, though, they all made it.
Gonzalez was selected in the player balloting, conducted last weekend. (Actually, Pujols, the fans' pick, got the most player votes with 650, and Gonzalez was second with 356.) Howard and Fielder, meanwhile, were picked by Manuel, who had eight selections, including three position players. Howard will be appearing in his second All-Star Game and first since his 2006 MVP season, and in all likelihood, he'll participate in the Home Run Derby, too. Howard won the Derby in 2006 in Pittsburgh and was invited back in 2007 in San Francisco, although he didn't win. This will be a special All-Star Game for Howard, considering it will be played in his hometown of St. Louis.
For Ibanez, it will mark his first All-Star Game, although he has been on the disabled list since June 18 and it's uncertain if he'll be able to play in the game. In addition to finishing second in the fan balloting with 4,053,355 votes (Ryan Braun had 4,138,559 votes), he finished first in the player balloting with 670 votes, more than any player in either league. Utley, who won the fan balloting with 5,027,029 (second overall in the NL to Pujols' 5,397,734), has been an All-Star starter for the past four seasons.
Interestingly, both Ibanez and Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran are injured. Beltran almost certainly won't play in the All-Star Game. Makes you wonder if Shane Victorino, batting .304 entering today's game, could be selected as an injury replacement.
(Updated, 2:09 p.m.): Victorino has been named to the Final Vote ballot, meaning fans can still send him to the All-Star Game in a special voting to be held this week. His competition: Cristian Guzman (Nationals), Matt Kemp (Dodgers), Mark Reynolds (Diamondbacks), Pablo Sandoval (Giants).
Details to follow.
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