All Star Game Blog

The 2007 All Star Game is in the books and for the tenth consecutive time, the American League has come out on top.  And the unbeaten streak is eleven games.  The National League had their run in the 1970s and 1980s but through the late 1990s and all of the 21st century, it’s been all American League.  Not that the games haven’t been close though.

The National League got on the board first with Dan Haren on the mound for the American League.  In the first inning, Jose Reyes led off with a single and he stole second base.  Barry Bonds flew out to right and then Carlos Beltran struck out swinging before Ken Griffey, Jr. came through with a big two out clutch RBI single.  The scored was 1-0 National League and unfortunately, it’d be the only time the National League would have the lead.

Neither team scored until the American League came up in the fifth inning.  With Chris Young on the mound for the National League, Brian Roberts drew a lead off walk and then Jorge Posada flew out to centerfield.  Then Ichiro Suzuki came up to bat and made history.  He belted a deep fly ball to right field that Ken Griffey, Jr. played to the centerfield side.  Unfortunately for Griffey, the ball bounced toward right field and Ichiro circled the bases and easily scored on a two run in the park homer to make it 2-1 American League.

Carl Crawford added a run in the top of the sixth on a solo homerun off of Francisco Cordero and the National League answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth.  With Justin Verlander on the mound, Carlos Beltran led off with a triple and then Ken Griffey, Jr. hit a fly ball deep enough to right field to score Beltran to make it 3-2.

The score would remain 3-2 until the eighth inning when the American League would score the rest of their runs.  With Billy Wagner on the mound, Mike Lowell led off with a single before Justin Morneau popped out third base and Grady Sizemore struck out.  Then Victor Martinez belted a two run shot to left field to make it 5-2 American League.

The National League did provide some drama in the bottom of the ninth inning.  J.J. Putz took the mound and he struck out Matt Holliday for the first out.  Brian McCann then popped out to short and the National League was down to their final out before the National League hitters put together a massive rally.  Dmitri Young kept the inning going with a single and then Alfonso Soriano made it a one run game with a two run homer to right field.  J.J. Hardy drew a walk and then Francisco Rodriguez relieved Putz and walked Derek Lee and Orlando Hudson to load the bases up.  Finally, K-Rod got Aaron Rowand to fly out right fielder to get out of his own jam.

Ichiro was picked as the Most Valuable Player.  He finished the game three for three with the two run in the park homer.  Jose Reyes led the way for the National League and he went three for four with a run.  Josh Beckett ended up with the win with two shutout innings while Chris Young took the loss after he gave up the Ichiro homerun.

The 2007 All Star Game Rosters have been set with the exception of the final spot for each team, which we’ll have one last chance to vote for.  There were no really big late surges and the only real surprise (although he’s very deserving) was Barry Bonds, who was voted in by the fans and he’ll be getting the start.

The Tigers now have three players in starting spots as the All Star Game balloting winds down and the Yankees are right on their heels with three (and a chance for more).  Magglio Ordonez joined Placido Polanco and Ivan Rodriguez as players who would be starters if the voting ended today.  And for the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter both lead at their positions.  Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano are in second place and they could make one last push.  The difference between Manny Ramirez in fourth place and Ichiro in third is almost nothing (less then 25,000 votes).

In the National League, Prince Fielder has extended his lead at first base and Barry Bonds is now on the outside looking in at fourth place at outfield.  It looks like the Mets are going to end up with three starters and despite a mediocre year (for him), Carlos Beltran leads all National League players with votes.  Ken Griffey, Jr. stayed in second and he’s right behind him.

Things are far from certain though as this story indicates.   Especially with the online ballots, players can make huge pushes in the final week so the final standings will almost be as interesting as who ends making that big push in the final days.

MLB.com has put out both National League and American League All Star Game voting updates.  In the National League, Prince Fielder has taken over the lead in a tight race at first base and Ken Griffey, Jr. continues his run towards a starting spot.  In the American League, Magglio Ordonez has made a push but he’s still on the outside looking in and Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are running away with their positions.

I haven’t seen what the baseball odds are on who’s favored to win, but my bet is on the American League.  They’ve gotten it done in interleague play again and I just like their starting lineup better.

I thought about doing a nice, indepth analysis with spreadsheets and stuff on who’s gaining on who and what not but MLB.com has beaten me to the punch.  Not only do they provide the current voting, but some really nice analysis on the current trends in the voting.

In the American League, Alex Rodriguez is the first AL player to top a million votes.  The two closest races are at second base (Robinson Cano barely leads Placido Polanco) and catcher (Ivan Rodriguez has a 30,000 vote lead over the injured Joe Mauer).  Magglio Ordonez also made a push and he’s now fifth amongst outfielders so the Tigers are making a good showing.  Heck, even Sean Casey is fifth at first base.

In the National League, the Mets have four players leading at their positions and the injured Carlos Beltran leads all NL hitters.  The closest race here is in the outfield.  Barry Bonds has just a 3-4k lead over fourth place Alfonso Soriano and less then 65,000 votes seperate second place Ken Griffy, Jr. and Andruw Jones.

MLB.com released their first update on the American League voting for the All Star game and like the National League, there’s no major surprises.  Alex Rodriguez leads everyone in the ballot box but you have mostly Yankees at or near the top.  So this year’s All Star game could really appeal to those on the east coast.  Then again, it’s really early.

MLB.com released their first update on the National League voting for the 2007 All Star Game.  So far, it’s a lot of Mets and it’s hard to argue too much with the voters’ choices.  I’ll be breaking these numbers down further as more updates are released.

A Japanese version of the 2007 All Star ballot was recently unveiled.    There’s no doubt that Far East natives have a huge impact in the balloting and this was most clear back when Ichiro led all players in votes in his rookie year back in 2001.  There’s also a ballot in Spanish so we’re getting truly international.  Monster.com will benefit the most of this because their name is on all of the ballots.  You wonder how much they paid for that right.

MLB.com provides a nice column on the All Star Game Ballot choices at second base for the 2007 All Star Game.  The National League is a no brainer in my opinion with Chase Utley being the top guy.  The American League isn’t quite as clear.  If I had to pick a sleeper, I’d say it’s B.J. Upton because he’s a young player who tends to get some attention.  Also don’t forget about Robinson Cano with all those Yankee fans behind him.

While Albert Pujols may be a no brainer, keep in mind that by casting your vote for him, you’re leaving off a guy who sluggled almost 60 homeruns as well as some other sluggers.  And the problem is no different in the American League as first base is stacked with sluggers.  MLB breaks down the first basemen so you can make your first base choice a little bit easier.