{ 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 Left Fielders – Bill James & Cum Posey Division
The leader in the AL is pretty clear: Baltimore’s Frank Robinson has been the key to their surprising season at 341/417/553, and is a fair bit ahead of the rest of the pack.
Probably the best candidates behind Robinson are Chicago’s Duffy Lewis at 311/349/571 with 11 homeruns and 25 RBIs and the House of David’s George Stone, who is hitting 322/412/517.
But Los Angeles’ Don Buford deserves some strong consideration: Buford is hitting 320/412/473, and has been the key to the Angels’ offense all season, scoring 28 runs. Detroit’s Oscar Gamble has hit a bit of a slump, but at 267/385/491 with 28 RBIs is still in the mix.
Buford and Gamble are the only folks here who have done much defensively, but we’re not talking about the great gloves of the WBL with this group.
The AI goes for Lewis, Robinson, and Stone, which is hard to argue with, but I would probably slide Buford ahead of Stone.
#NL Left Fielders – Effa Manley & Marvin Miller Division
The NL starter is pretty easy: the New York Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth is the dominant player in the league at 337/445/697, 16 HRs, and 45 RBIs. And that’s after a recent slump.
After Ruth, Philadelphia’s Rico Carty is a no-brainer at 354/416/570.
And then it gets complicated.
Ruth’s teammate, Albert Belle, is slashing 322/375/579 in somewhat limited playing time, and then there is a large gap to a trio with OPS’ in the low 800s: San Francisco’s Wally Moon, Brooklyn’s Roy White, and Homestead’s Rick Reichardt.
White has been one of–if not the best–LF defensively, so he’ll get my nod for the third slot along with Ruth and Carty.
The AI only selects Ruth and Carty, which is also defensible, given the OF quality in CF and RF.