{ The All-Star game is about a month away. We’ll post occasional articles about the contenders for participation in the mid-season classic. These are written “as of now,” so the final selections may vary dramatically, but hopefully these will add to the ongoing flavor of the league. }
#AL Right Fielders – Bill James & Cum Posey Divisions
The problem in the AL is there are four must-haves.
It took a little while for Detroit’s 20-year old wunderkind Ty Cobb to force his way into the starting lineup, but he’s slashing 348/385/607 and clearly deserves consideration here.
Memphis’ Ted Williams has been rock solid for the Red Sox at 304/391/567 with 10 homeruns and 34 RBI.
Shoeless Joe Jackson is slashing 343/440/614 with 11 homeruns and 38 RBI for Chicago.
And, Kansas City’s Stan Musial is at 361/422/600 with 9 homeruns and 35 RBI.
You can really stop the discussion there.
If I were limited to three, I would drop Cobb due to his having significantly less playing time. But he’s an everyday player now, and I would gladly sacrifice elsewhere to include all four of them.
The AI agrees, picking all four to the summer classic.
#NL Right Fielders – Effa Manley & Marvin Miller Divisions
One of the surprises of the league has been the superlative performance of Cleveland’s Ron Blomberg, who is hitting 335/411/615 with 11 homeruns and 35 RBIs. The starting RF is either Blomberg or San Francisco’s Reggie Jackson, who is chugging along at 362/483/623 without showing any signs of a slump.
There is a gap, then, to the Black Yankees’ Mickey Mantle (who has seen more time in RF than CF so far) at 297/421/436 and Miami’s Jose Canseco (296/370/456).
It’s a bit of a conundrum. Roberto Clemente of the Grays has been the best defensive RF, maybe, but at 276/300/411 just hasn’t produced enough.
So, Blomberg and Jackson are shoo-ins, and if I had to pick someone after them, it would be Mantle, unless Canseco ends up being Miami’s only representative?
The AI cheats, picking Jackson’s teammate, Bobby Bonds, who is really a CF, as the 3rd right fielder.