Josh Hamilton may have lifted the spirits of the bored, home run-hungry 2008 All-Star crowd with his long home runs, but the real story was the disastrous debut of what would have been the oldest rookie pitcher 71-year-old Clay Council.
The story of Albert Belle can be summed up in one word: controversy. His talent on the field was matched by very few, and his propensity to deal with the media the way he did, made national headlines.
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By Christopher Reina
At RealGM, we use the Field Impact Counter (FIC) to objectively measure how effective players are performing and then use the Reina Value to evaluate their financial worth.
The player with the highest FIC for the season, therefore, ‘deserves’ the highest salary, which is Alex Rodriguez’s $28 million contract for 2008. Because Ben Sheets is currently the leader, he ‘deserves’ $28 million, and since he is ‘actually’ making $12.125 million, the difference is 131%, and that becomes his Reina Value.
In this edition, we examine who statistically should be starting during Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.
NL Starters
C: Russell Martin, LAD (108, +1,800%)
Martin is on pace to match his season totals from last year although he has a higher OBP as he’s striking out less and walking more.
1B: Lance Berkman, HOU (207, +93%)
Berkman is easily the MVP of the NL this season.
2B: Chase Utley, PHI (177, +201%)
Utley is leading the MLB in homers with 24 but is batting a surprisingly low .294.
3B: Chipper Jones, ATL (172, +51%)
Jones is batting .388 as his .400 chances are becoming more of a longshot.
SS: Hanley Ramirez, FLA (137, +3,317%)
Ramirez recovered from a rough May by hitting 10 homers in June and two in July already.
OF: Nate McLouth, PIT (149, +3,660%)
McLouth continues to slide back down to normalcy, hitting for an Ops of .622 in June.
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM (141, -17%)
Beltran’s AB/HR ratio is 25.1, which is significantly higher than each of the past two seasons (12.4 and 16.8), but he hit seven of 13 homers in June.
OF: Pat Burrell, PHI (136, +4%)
I’m not sure how a guy with 21 homers and fifth in the NL in OPS at .994 doesn’t make the All-Star team.
DH: Albert Pujols, STL (174, +36%)
Pujols is on pace to have at least 30 homers and bat over .314 for the eight consecutive time.
SP: Cole Hamels, PHI (163, +3,297%)
Hamels gets the nod over the superior Tim Lincecum based on the FIC largely because of his two shutouts. His WHIP is significantly better, and he has similar strikeout totals although Lincecum’s ERA is 2.49 compared to Hamels’ 3.22.
AL Starters
C: Joe Mauer, MIN (123, +94%)
Mauer has usually struggled against lefties (.685 OPS between 05 and 07) but has a .874 OPS this season.
1B: Jason Giambi, NYY (130, -43%)
Giambi was hitting just .164 in April but had a 1.090 OPS in May and a 1.015 in June.
2B: Ian Kinsler, TEX (176, +2,986%)
Kinsler is ranked third in all of baseball in season FIC; he hit for a 1.091 OPS in June and a 1.489 in July thus far, leading the AL in batting and runs scored.
3B: Alex Rodriguez, NYY (136, -47%)
Upon coming back from a slow start and injury, Alex Rodriguez has hit 11 homers in his past 122 at bats.
SS: Michael Young, TEX (89, -6%)
The shortstop position was once a position of great strength in the AL, but A-Rod converted over a few years ago, Nomar is a shade of himself. In the NL, Jeter is having an off year, so Michael Young is left standing. He easily has the lowest FIC of any All-Star on this list, but he has a halfway respectable .292 average.
OF: Josh Hamilton, TEX (160, +4,058%)
Hamilton has come back to earth a little bit, hitting for an .813 OPS in June and .703 in July while hitting just five homers along the way. He has a home-road OPS split of 1.106 and .769.
OF: Grady Sizemore, CLE (148, +404%)
If Sizemore finishes the season leading the AL in homers as he does now with 22, it will be an accomplishment Alfonso Soriano, Brady Anderson, and a slew of others never were able to accomplish. It also will likely mean he will move into the three hole next season, where he belongs.
OF: Carlos Quentin, CWS (138, +3,704%)
Quentin has decidedly slowed down from his months of April and May, but he still has 19 homers.
DH: J.D. Drew, BOS (134, +4%)
With David Ortiz hurt and Manny Ramirez having a below average season, Drew’s 16 homers and .974 OPS has helped keep the Red Sox afloat offensively.
SP: Roy Halladay, TOR (165, +71%)
Halladay has a 2.88 ERA and six complete games on the season.
- Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM and the creator of the Reina Value.
