2017 Hall of Fame Ballot: If I Had a Vote

Each and every year there arises a major debate around the baseball world as to which players are deserving of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. While certain players from any given year are no doubt picks, sparking little argument as to whether their career numbers are worthy of election, others players have rather borderline statistics, making things very controversial. This year is no different.

The 2017 Hall of Fame ballot has 34 players on it, with 19 of them being in their first time on the ballot. After reviewing the ballot numerous times, I gave each and every player careful consideration, but in the end I wound up placing only four on my ballot. Here are the four players I feel should make it into the Hall of Fame in 2017 (not necessarily the players I think will get elected) when the official announcement is made exactly two weeks from today:

The first player on my ballot is Tim Raines.

As recently as the 2015 ballot results, it seemed as if Tim Raines stood virtually no chance at getting into the Hall of Fame. That year, Raines received only 55 percent of the vote, with just two years of eligibility remaining. But 2016 saw him make a huge jump, climbing all the way up to 69.8 percent. Though Raines only hit 170 homers in his career, his 808 stolen bases and 2,605 career hits truly stand out. With this being his final year on the ballot, I’m hopeful that Raines receives his rightful induction.

Second on my unofficial ballot is Jeff Bagwell.

I originally didn’t have Jeff Bagwell as part of this blog post, as I was on the fence about whether or not I felt he deserved the honor. However, after numerous number comparisons, I decided he was in fact worthy. Bagwell doesn’t have numbers that jump off the page, with a .297 career average and just 449 home runs, but Bagwell averaged 37 homers and 116 RBI’s a year over a ten season span from 1994-2003, and therefore should be inducted in the Hall of Fame, as 71.6 percent of voters agreed last year.

Next, I have Trevor Hoffman.

Trevor Hoffman is probably the surest bet of all returnees to get enshrined in 2017. In his first time around last year, Hoffman picked up 67.8 percent of the vote, placing him just 7.2 percent back of induction. Hoffman was the first closer to reach 600 career saves, and sits second all-time behind Mariano Rivera with 601 career saves. In addition, Hoffman also holds a 2.87 career mark, and when you put it all together is a definite Hall of Famer in my mind.

Lastly, Vladimir Guerrero finds his way onto my list of picks.

The only first-time player I have on my ballot is Vladimir Guerrero, but it’s no true mystery as to why. One of the most fun players to watch, Guerrero could hit pretty much anything from a ball in the dirt to one over his head, evident in his .318 career average — the highest of all the players on this year’s ballot. But Guerrero didn’t just hit for average, he also had one of the best power bats, notching 449 homers and totaling 1,496 RBI’s. There should be more than enough support for Guerrero from the voters.

Unfortunately, even with all of the great players on the ballot this year, I had to leave off the remaining 30 players, including a large number of the really good players from the ballot, including Jeff Kent, Fred McGriff, Edgar Martinez, Larry Walker, Curt Schilling, Lee Smith and Billy Wagner — all of which have good arguments for induction into the Hall.

In addition, I’ve excluded Barry Bonds, Rogers Clemens and Sammy Sosa, among others traced to PED’s, not based solely on their PED use, but merely because I don’t feel they should get in this time around. Not yet; maybe not even at all. I haven’t fully decided how I feel. The Hall of Fame is an exclusive club, and I’m not sure I’ll ever feel that PED players are deserving of induction.

Though you may disagree with some of the players I feel are Hall of Fame worthy and with some of the players I left off my ballot, it’s just the way I feel. With the vote set to be announced on January 18th, it will definitely be interesting to see who gets in.

My Ballot for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game

The ballot for the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star game has been out for awhile now, but I’ve been holding off with casting my votes for who I’d like to see in the game up in Cincinnati on July 14th. With it seeming like the ballot is coming out earlier and earlier each year, I wanted to give players enough time to put up quality numbers before I made any decisions. But I finally feel there are enough stats to make a logical decision.

Voting is simple. Although there are no longer paper ballots that you can pick up and fill out at your local ballpark, you can head over to MLB.com and fill out an online ballot with the player you feel most deserves the honor for each position. You can vote up to 35 times for the players of your choice. (Voting is open until July 2nd.)

I cast my maximum 35 votes a few days ago. Although the All-Star game is still just under two months away, I figured I’d go ahead and go over the players I picked for the Midsummer Classic. A lot of things can change, with my picks subsequently changing as well, but these are the players I went ahead and voted for to make the All-Star game:

FIRST BASE: Miguel Cabrera (AL), Adrian Gonzalez (NL)

It came down to Miguel Cabrera, Eric Hosmer and Mark Teixeira for me in the American League portion of the first base spot. While Teixeira leads in homers and RBI’s, his batting average was too low for me to select him. In addition, Eric Hosmer has fewer homers and RBI’s than Cabrera in more at-bats, and thus, I picked Miguel Cabrera.

In the National League, it was another tough decision. While Paul Goldschmidt is producing another year worth of MVP caliber numbers, and although Anthony Rizzo is getting better and better, I voted for Adrian Gonzalez. Getting off to a hot start to begin the year, Gonzalez holds the second highest batting average in baseball and deserves to make it.

SECOND BASE: Jose Altuve (AL), Dee Gordon (NL)

Jose Altuve leading all of American League second baseman in stolen bases, sitting second in average and third in homers was enough to get him selected by me to make the All-Star game. Although Devon Travis of the Blue Jays has been a highlight reel each night, Altuve is one of the most exciting second basemen in baseball.

The National League race for All-Star second baseman was an easy decision on my part. Dee Gordon is deserving of the spot, no question about it. Gordon doesn’t have any home runs, but that’s not his game. He leads all NL second basemen in stolen bases, and holds a batting average above .400. That’s deserving of All-Star recognition.

SHORTSTOP: Marcus Semien (AL), Brandon Crawford (NL)

I’ll be honest — I had to double check Marcus Semien’s stats when I was casting my vote for American League shortstop. I knew he was having a good year, but I didn’t realize how good. Leading the American League shortstops in homers and stolen bases, Semien is the unlikely frontrunner for the honor.

It was no easy task to choose a shortstop that had the best stats for the All-Star game. There are a ton of them with good numbers in one category or another. But while names such as Zack Cozart, Jhonny Peralta, etc., stood out, I went with Brandon Crawford, who has good numbers as well as the amazing defense to match.

THIRD BASE: Josh Donaldson (AL), Todd Frazier (NL)

You could make cases for Manny Machado, Mike Moustakas, Josh Donaldson and even Evan Longoria for the American League third base spot in the All-Star game. But I went with Donaldson, who is having a fantastic year. Sitting second in homers but first in RBI’s among AL third basemen, Donaldson should be in Cincy in July.

The first and only Red on my list — likely to be a favorite with the Reds hosting the All-Star game — is Todd Frazier, who I selected for NL third base in the midsummer classic. His batting average isn’t the best, but he is at the top in homers and is deserving in my mind of the honor.

CATCHER: Stephen Vogt (AL), Buster Posey (NL)

This is somewhat of a shocking pick, but a very deserving one. Stephen Vogt wasn’t all that well known as recently as a year ago, but his bat is making him more of a common name. Vogt leads AL catchers in average, home runs and RBI’s, and should lead them in voting when all is said and done.

I could’ve easily picked Miguel Montero or Yasmani Grandal to make the start behind the plate for the National League, but I went with the always consistent Buster Posey instead. Posey leads AL catchers in homers, and should be adding another All-Star game to his already impressive resume.

DESIGNATED HITTER: Nelson Cruz

Although the designated hitter role in the All-Star game goes to David Ortiz the majority of the time, there is simply no other choice for DH this year than Nelson Cruz. It’s not even close. Cruz leads all designated hitters in homers, runs batted in and average, and will be in the All-Star game up in Cincinnati.

OUTFIELD

It’s never easy to narrow down several dozen players to three All-Star picks for each league, especially when you could make a strong case for a dozen of the outfield choices for each league, but it’s a requirement when casting a ballot. So, while I voted for the players who I felt were All-Star caliber players at the moment, there are a few more I would’ve liked to vote for, but couldn’t. Keep that in mind when reading the outfielders I selected for the American League and National League:

Mike Trout, Josh Reddick and Adam Jones (AL)

Mike Trout was a nobrainer, as he once again is in the process of posting another fantastic season, but the other two spots were somewhat difficult with all of the great players. In the end, after examining all of the stats, I made the tough choice of Josh Reddick and Adam Jones. I hope to see them in the All-Star game starting lineups.

Bryce Harper, Justin Upton and Giancarlo Stanton (NL)

As with Mike Trout in the AL, picking Bryce Harper for National League outfield was the easiest choice of the three. But after a lot of debate between the candidates to fill the other places, I wound up choosing Justin Upton and Giancarlo Stanton. Upton is having a good year, and despite a subpar average, Stanton is dominating yet again.

2015 Hall of Fame Ballot: If I Had A Vote

Each and every year there arises a major debate around the baseball world as to which players are deserving of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. While certain players from any given year are no doubt picks, sparking little argument as to whether their career numbers are worthy of election, others players have rather borderline statistics, making things very controversial. This year was no different.

The 2015 Hall of Fame ballot has 34 players on it, with 17 of them being in their first time on the ballot. After reviewing the ballot numerous times, I gave each and every player careful consideration, but in the end I wound up placing only six on my ballot. Here are the six players I feel should make it into the Hall of Fame in 2015 (not necessarily the players I think will get elected):

The first player on my ballot is Craig Biggio.

Missing the Hall of Fame by a mere two votes last year, Craig Biggio should get in without a problem this time around. One of only four of the twenty-eight total players in MLB history with 3,000 or more hits that isn’t in the Hall of Fame — the other three being Rafael Palmeiro (steroids), Pete Rose (banned) and Derek Jeter (he’ll be elected in 2020) — Biggio will likely have that change in 2015. His career stats of 291 home runs and 1,175 RBI’s are relatively low for a Hall of Fame player, but his career number of hits puts him over the top in my book.

The second player I have on my ballot is Mike Piazza.

I felt strongly last year that Mike Piazza should’ve gotten into the Hall, and I feel the same way this year as well. While Piazza received just over 62 percent of the vote in 2014, and therefore may or may not make a 13 percent jump to receive induction this time around, Piazza will eventually make it in, as he should. Piazza’s stats of 2,127 hits, 1,335 RBI’s and 427 home runs aren’t the best of anyone in history, but they’re right up near the top for best hitting catcher in baseball history. There is no doubt that Piazza is a Hall of Famer.

Tim Raines also finds his way onto my list of picks.

The only new player on my ballot that isn’t in his first time up for election, I gave Tim Raines a strong look last year but decided to leave him off my ballot. This year, however, I included Raines. Raines’ overall statistics aren’t over the top, having blasted just 170 home runs in his career, but it’s his 808 stolen bases combined with his 2,605 total hits that make him Hall of Fame worthy. Raines sits fifth all-time on the stolen base list, with the four players ahead of him each holding a spot in Cooperstown. In my opinion, Raines should join them.

Following Raines I have Randy Johnson.

The easiest choice of all the first time ballot players, Randy Johnson will no doubt get into the Hall of Fame in 2015. Racking up over 300 wins for his career — something that nowadays will likely never happen again — and recording 4,875 strikeouts to go along with a 3.29 ERA, Johnson sits in the top few all-time in a number of categories. Having received the honor of obtaining five Cy Young awards over his career, Johnson has put himself into great position to get the greatest honor of all: induction into the Hall of Fame.

The fifth player on my ballot is Pedro Martinez.

Pedro Martinez is by no means a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he’s very, very close. With a career ERA at 2.93, and the sixth best winning percentage of all-time, at .687, Martinez is definitely worthy of the Hall, just maybe not the first time around. Even so, he’s on my ballot. With all of the great seasons Martinez had, most notably with the Red Sox, where he won 117 of his 219 career games and helped lead Boston to its first World Series title since 1918, he will receive a great number of votes. But Martinez will perhaps come up just shy of induction this time around.

The final player on my ballot is John Smoltz.

As with Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz getting into the Hall in 2015 isn’t a sure bet, but he’s going to get a good amount of support regardless, and will undoubtedly get in eventually. The only player in MLB history to win over 200 games and record over 150 saves, all totalling up to a 3.33 career ERA, it’s Smoltz’s combination of great years as a starter and fantastic three year stretch of relief pitching from 2002-2004 while dealing with arm injuries that makes him deserve it all the more. Racking up all his career saves (154) over that time, Smoltz was an all around great pitcher.

Unfortunately, even with all of the great players on the ballot this year, I had to leave off the remaining 28 players, including a large number of the really good players from the ballot, being Fred McGriff, Lee Smith, Curt Schilling, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Jeff Kent, Larry Walker, Gary Sheffield and Jeff Bagwell — all of which have good arguments for induction into the Hall.

In addition, I’ve excluded Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Rogers Clemens, among others traced to PED’s, not based solely on their PED use, but merely because I don’t feel they should get in this time around. Not yet. Maybe not even at all. I haven’t fully decided how I feel. The Hall of Fame is an exclusive club, and I’m not sure I’ll ever feel that PED players are deserving of induction.

Though you may disagree with some of the players I feel are Hall of Fame worthy and with some of the players I left off my ballot, it’s just the way I feel and how I see things. Now, I want to hear from you. Of the players on the 2015 ballot, who do you want to see get inducted in July? Cast your vote below for the number of players from the 2015 ballot that you would vote into the Hall of Fame, and feel free to leave your thoughts below.

Ballot Released for the 2014 MLB All-Star Game

On Friday, the ballot for the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star game, set to take place up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at Target Field on July, 15th, was released, giving baseball fans all across the country the ability to pick which players they’d like to see in the starting lineups of the midsummer classic.

With more and more attention being given to the All-Star game as years pass (a record 40.2 million ballots were cast in 2012), and with there being so many top quality candidates to choose from, the voting has become extremely intriguing.

To cast your vote, you can head down to your local ballpark and pick up a ballot, or, the easiest of ways, just head to MLB.com and fill out an online ballot with the player you feel most deserves the honor for each position. You have up to 25 votes (35 if you’re a registered member with MLB.com) that you can use.

Voting doesn’t end until July 3rd, but I’m not waiting (at least not completely).

I went ahead and cast half of my eligible 35 votes today for the players who I feel would deserve to make the All-Star team if it were being played tomorrow, with a plan for my remaining picks to be cast much closer to time. A lot of things can change, and therefore, my picks will subsequently change as well. However, for the sole purpose of this blog post, I figured I’d reveal the players I voted for, with the reasoning behind my picks:

FIRST BASE: Albert Pujols (AL), Paul Goldschmidt (NL)

With the great start he’s had so far this season, picking Albert Pujols was an easy choice. Though there are several other great candidates, including Miguel Cabrera, who just recently moved back over to first, and rookie phenom, Jose Abreu, who’s off to a fast start to his major league career, it was Pujols who had the overall package, posting a solid campaign for comeback player of the year.

For the National League side of the vote, it was a bit more difficult, with even more great candidates. From Brandon Belt’s fantastic, breakout start, to the always consistent Freddie Freeman, it was hard to settle with the decision I came to of picking Paul Goldschmidt. However, after the breakout season he had in 2013, and the fact that he isn’t letting up, he’s done enough to earn him my vote.

SECOND BASE: Robinson Cano (AL), Neil Walker (NL)

Though his power numbers have yet to show up so far this season, as many predicted with his move to the Mariners, I voted for Robinson Cano to start at second for the All-Star game. He’s still been fairly consistent at the plate this season, and his defensive skills are always fun to watch. While both Jason Kipnis and Dustin Pedroia were considered, Cano, in my mind, is the best choice at the moment.

I never thought I’d cast a vote for Neil Walker over the walking web gem that is Brandon Phillips, but that’s exactly what I did. Walker is off to a fantastic start to the year, and while Phillips hasn’t slowed down with his glove handiwork, he’s been a bit slow at the plate thus far. If he can pick it up offensively, he’ll likely earn the fan’s vote, but for now, I’m sticking with the Pirates’ Walker.

SHORTSTOP: Derek Jeter (AL), Troy Tulowitzki (NL)

Statistically, Alexei Ramirez probably deserves the starting shortstop role more than Derek Jeter, having one of the fastest starts of anyone in baseball, and the best kickoff to his career. However, with this being his final season (and Jeter being my favorite player), I had to vote for Jeter. The model of consistency, Jeter in all likelihood will be making his final All-Star start come July.

Troy Tulowitzki has always had the potential to be one of the top players in all of baseball, however, health has played a big role in hindering that caliber player from showing up. But with Tulo fully healthy, he’s begun to show signs of his full potential, and has been doing fantastic so far for the Rockies. While Andrelton Simmons and Hanley Ramirez would be great picks, mine goes to Tulowitzki.

THIRD BASE: Evan Longoria (AL), David Wright (NL)

In voting for the American League third baseman, though Josh Donaldson has, arguably, gotten off to the best start of any third baseman in baseball, I went with Evan Longoria. While Donaldson could definitely earn the All-Star spot should he continue his great play, Longoria has always been able to be consistent for the Rays. He should be able to do enough to earn the honor yet again.

Pedro Alvarez and Nolan Arenado have both begun the 2014 season on a high note, however, with David Wright having a good year as well so far, and factoring in his track record, my ballot saw Wright as the pick for third base. Wright always seems to have the numbers to warrant an All-Star selection, and I feel he’ll likely make the cut this time around as well.

CATCHER: Matt Wieters (AL), Yadier Molina (NL)

With Brian McCann heading from the NL to the AL this offseason, many felt he would be an immense impact as he has been over the years. But while he certainly has been great, he hasn’t had the fastest start to the season among catchers. Matt Wieters has had a career season so far, really producing well for the Orioles, and if he can keep it up, he very well could overtake McCann in the voting.

When it comes to picking the National League catcher, it truly is a tough choice. There are several great ones to pick from, many of which have been All-Stars before, and the great seasons so far by those players makes it nearly impossible to say which one player stands above the rest. With that said, however, I went with Yadier Molina, who does nearly everything well on the field, and deserves another selection.

DESIGNATED HITTER: Nelson Cruz

Being just an American League category, there weren’t too many players to pick from, so it came down to David Ortiz and Nelson Cruz for me. While David Ortiz is usually the obvious choice, Cruz is having a career season so far, and he might receive the All-Star votes needed if he can keep up his hot start. However, don’t count out Ortiz, as he could heat up as July continues to approach.

OUTFIELD

It’s never easy to narrow down 90 players to just six (three for each league), especially when you could make a strong case for a dozen of the outfield choices for each league, but it’s a requirement when casting a ballot. So, while I voted for the players who I felt were All-Star caliber players at the moment, there are a few more I would’ve liked to vote for, but couldn’t. Keep that in mind when reading the outfielders I selected for the American League and National League:

Mike Trout, Carlos Beltran, Jose Bautista (AL)

All three of these players are off to tremendous starts to the season, with all three standing a good shot at making the All-Star team this year. Mike Trout is, arguably, the best player in the game today, constantly making great plays and showing off his power at the plate, with Carlos Beltran and Jose Bautista possessing some of the best power baseball has to offer. Everything together, they all deserve consideration.

Ryan Braun, Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen (NL)

As with most categories, the National League has more players overall that have an argument each season to be an All-Star. For this season, I voted for Ryan Braun (unfortunately), Giancarlo Stanton and Andrew McCutchen, as while I’m against Braun for his PED use, he’s still a good player. But with that said, I felt a lot better about choosing Stanton and McCutchen than I did Braun.

Do you agree or disagree with my picks? Leave a comment below.

2013 All-Star Game Ballot: The Players I Voted For

It seems a bit too early to be thinking about the 2013 All-Star game, which doesn’t take place until July 16th, but the ballots have already been released, allowing fans all across the country to cast their votes for who they want to see participate. Therefore, I figured I’d take the time to type up a blog post discussing who I voted for, and why I voted for them.

Keep in mind, with it being so early, I voted for players I felt would be the best at their position around the All-Star break; given their current stats and past history–there might be a little bit of favoritism thrown in their as well. The All-Star ballot is mostly a popularity vote, anyway. (If you’d like to cast your own vote, up to 25 times, CLICK HERE. But no hurry; you have until July 4th to do so.)

So, with all of that said, here’s my 2013 All-Star Game ballot:

FIRST BASE–Prince Fielder (AL) Joey Votto (NL)

For my American League vote, it came down to Prince Fielder and Mike Napoli. Normally, I would’ve voted for Fielder without a second thought, but Napoli has really been performing well this year, so I had to at least consider him. But in the end, I decided on Fielder, for his overall track record and defensive skills at first.

My vote also came down to two players in the National League: Joey Votto and Ryan Howard. Both are having good seasons so far, and both have great gloves at first base, but I voted for Votto, just because I feel he’s the better player at the current moment, and will probably be so in July.

SECOND BASE–Robinson Cano (AL) Brandon Phillips (NL)

I glanced at Dustin Pedroia’s stats for a few minutes, but for me, the AL portion of this vote is a no brainer. There’s no other second basemen in all of baseball with a better combination of power, range and overall defensive abilities than Robinson Cano. Thus, I voted for Cano, who should see himself taking part in his fourth straight All-Star game.

It would’ve been easy to pick Chase Utley for NL second basemen, with him having a great comeback season, but I couldn’t overlook Brandon Phillips. Though he doesn’t supply the same amount of power as Utley, Phillips still has some pop, but I picked him for his glove alone. Other than Cano, Phillips is the smoothest-looking second basemen in baseball.

SHORT STOP–Jed Lowrie (AL) Troy Tulowitzki (NL)

As much as I wanted to, and almost did anyway (why not?), I couldn’t vote for Derek Jeter to play short stop in this year’s All-Star game, for the AL. With the further setback to his ankle, there’s doubt that Jeter will even be back by then, thus he wouldn’t be able to participate. So I ended up settling on Jed Lowrie. He’s having a fairly good season thus far.

The National Leauge portion of the short stop position was far more difficult to decide. When you have guys like Starlin Castro, Troy Tulowitzki and Andrelton Simmons to choose from, it makes things difficult. But in the end, I went with Troy Tulowitzki, who, if he can keep up his hot start, should be a front-runner for comeback player of the year.

THIRD BASE–Miguel Cabrera (AL) David Wright (NL)

Choosing between guys like Miguel Cabrera, Manny Machado and Evan Longoria, the AL third basemen position took me the longest of them all to decide on, but I went with Miguel Cabrera. Having won the Triple Crown in 2012, and currently sitting just back of the leaders in average and RBI’s, Cabrera stands just above the rest.

I nearly went with Ryan Zimmerman for the NL third basemen, but I changed my vote to David Wright. Wright is one of the best defensive third basemen in all of baseball, and his ability to hit for average as well as power is unmatchable. Wright should easily make the cut to take part in his seventh career All-Star game.

CATCHER–J.P. Arencibia (AL) Buster Posey (NL)

Joe Mauer is having a better season so far than J.P. Arencibia, in terms of batting average, but I decided to vote for Arencibia, nonetheless. Arencibia has never participated in an All-Star game, in his three full season career, but I hope this year things turn out differently. He certainly has the talent, but it’s going to take continued success to make it.

This could’ve been somewhat of a difficult decision, having to choose between Brian McCann and Buster Posey, but given that McCann is yet to play in a game this season, I went with the obvious choice of Posey. On pace to have the best season of his career, Posey is sure to be behind the plate for his second straight All-Star game.

DESIGNATED HITTER–David Ortiz

Designated hitters, Travis Hafner, David Ortiz and Mark Trumbo are all having fantastic seasons so far, but going off of who is performing the best at the current moment, there’s no argument that it’s Ortiz. Considering the fact that he’s on a 23-game hit streak, dating back to last season, I’d say there’s no other DH who deserves a vote more than Ortiz.

OUTFIELD

It’s never easy to narrow down 47 players to just three, especially when you could make a strong case for a dozen of the outfield choices for each league, but it’s a requirement when casting a vote. So while I voted for the players who I felt were All-Star caliber players, there are a few more I would’ve liked to vote for, but couldn’t. Keep that in mind when reading the outfielders I selected for the AL and NL:

Mike Trout, Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Morse (AL)

There’s no doubt that both Mike Trout and Yoenis Cespedes are worthy of the All-Star game, however, Michael Morse is somewhat debatable. Even so, I voted for Morse to participate. I feel that although he doesn’t hit for a high average, nor does he make gold glove caliber plays, Morse is deserving of his first career All-Star game.

Bryce Harper, Justin Upton, Ryan Braun (NL)

Voting for Bryce Harper, Justin Upton and Ryan Braun meant leaving out players such as Matt Kemp, but I feel these three are most deserving of the All-Star game. All are off to great starts so far this season, each leading their team in home runs and RBI’s, and therefore, I felt each was worthy of my vote.

So there you have it: My 2013 All-Star game ballot. I might end up regretting a few of the players I voted for, as their stats might fall short of where I’m predicting them to be in July, however, it is what it is. I’d be happy with whoever participates.