My 2010 MLB All-Star Team

Every year, Major League Baseball has a showcase of their greatest players taking a field to put on a showcase of their talents for their fans and all of America to watch. Ballparks around North America have been taking votes for the last couple of months as well as mlb.com. And, as with every year, there will be debates over why certain players made it versus other players. So, I've decided to make up my own hybrid team, taking the best of both leagues. This took me a little bit as I am both a Philadelphia Phillies fan and a Texas Rangers fan, so I had to make sure that my own personal prejudices did not take affect.

1st base- Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers)- With being third in the majors for doubles (19), first with home runs (19), and fourth in batting average (.332) I begrudgingly extend this honor to a Detroit Tiger. Cabrera is in his seventh year in the major leagues and is on pace to match his average of over 30 home runs in a season with a batting average of over .320. The main selling point of placing him on the list is that he beats out Kevin Youklis (and all Boston Red Sox are evil; not as evil as the Yankees though.) (These are my first two rules in selection: No Yankees are allowed. No Boston Red Sox, unless there's someone else available)

2nd base-Chase Utley (Philadelphia Phillies)- Before I get accused of my Phillies allegiance getting in the way of this vote, let me explain. Not only is batting and power taken into consideration, one should also take into consideration their fielding capabilities and defensive play making. True, after reviewing his fielding and batting stats for 2010, Chase does not rank within the top five. So, therefore my decision is based off of two things: 1) He is not a Yankee and 2) his previous performance, talent and skill speaks volumes to his need for being in his fifth All Star game.

Shortstop- Jimmy Rollins (Philadelphia Phillies)- Yes, I know he's played only twelve games this year and has been on the disabled list for most of the season. However, Jimmy was off to the best start of his career. In 41 at-bats, Jimmy was batting .341 with a slugging percentage of ..634. If he did not strain his calf muscle, Jimmy might be in the running for the batting title and the Phillies would be in first place instead of third. During that same time frame, Jimmy had not committed any errors. Since you need talent with grace, if Chase is playing second then Jimmy needs to be playing shortstop.

Third base- Michael Young (Texas Rangers)- Yes, I know Adrian Beltre may deserve to make up this All Star team, but the captain of the Rangers deserves to make the team. This year he set the mark for the most base hits by a Texas Ranger in his career with the team, and has made more than his fair share of flawless plays at third base. As Young is slowly reaching the down slope of his peak, being 34 this year, I say we let him play one more year and then let Beltre start (begrudgingly, since he is a Red Sox) as he is three years Young's junior. Then after that, the Red Sox can play, and Young will be the backup.

Catcher- Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez (Washington Nationals)- The current king of Major League Baseball is experiencing a rebirth with the lowly Nationals. This year so far, Pudge is batting .340 through 41 games and has only one error to his name. At age 39, Pudge deserves to have the spotlight for one more year before he steps into the shadows and heads to the Hall of Fame.

Outfield- Ichiro Suzuki, Magglio Ordonez, Josh Hamilton (Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers)- Selecting Ichiro should go without explanation. The man will one day in be the next one to break .400. Ordonez is having another power year, and with the recession hitting the Detroit area hard, they deserve more than one hero. Josh Hamilton would be the comeback story for the year, yet again. This time around, it would not be his come back from drugs and alcohol. Rather, it would be a return to the power hitter that he was back in 2008. The crowds would gather to see him try to break the home run derby record again for another year.

Pitchers (basing off of a dream five man rotation)- Roy Halladay, Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson, Ryan Strasburg, and Dallas Braden- (Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals, and Oakland Athletics)- The two pitchers who threw a perfect game, the one who should have been given the perfect game, the pitcher who was on the other side of one of the perfect games, and the young phenom would all make the All Star team. This would allow for one of the strongest staffs for the game.

Since I have tried to limit the Phillies and Rangers presence in the starting line up, I would recommend stacking the rest of the bench with both teams. Yeah, I know the Yankees and Red Sox have a lot to contribute, but please . . . they've gone ahead and bought their talent. They need to be forbidden from the All Star games for about the next five to ten years to let the more small market teams have a chance to display their talent. Hopefully Bud is reading this. If so, think about reinstating Ubaldo's perfect game to him as well please!

Resources: mlb.com