Youk, Tex best poised for All-Star nod

Justin Thrift
opinion

The only reason that I’m even mildly interested in the 2009 All-Star game is because it would be nice to see the Boston Red Sox have home field advantage when they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series this fall. Really, that’s the only reason that I’ll even be watching with remote interest.

The All-Star game is a funny thing, really. Many different people have many different opinions on its sacredness, its relevance to the MLB season, and of course, the players that are selected to represent each league. This year has featured a particularly high amount of debated positions and opinions, but the one that has puzzled me the most is the American League 1B slot. While four seemingly qualified candidates have arisen for the nod, I’m here to state firmly that to consider anyone else other than Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis is sheer idiocy. Wait, it’s also a complete and irrevocable injustice towards two players that have helped carry their team’s offense in the toughest division in Major League Baseball. Apart from Teixeira and Youkilis, Carlos Pena of the Rays and Russell Branyan of the Mariner’s are the two first basemen that are also garnering some All-Star talk from fans around the country. Honestly, I don’t know how people can make arguments for these guys against the likes of Tex and Youk. Let’s start with some simple baseball math, shall we?

Carlos Pena: In 79 games Pena has scored 58 times, earned 67 hits, hit 17 doubles and 23 homers, batted in 55 RBI’s, struck out 101 times and has combined for a .365 on-base percentage with a .238 overall batting average.

Mark Teixeira: In 73 games (6 less than Pena), Teixeira has scored 51 times, earned 79 hits, hit 22 doubles and 20 homeruns, struck out a minuscule 49 times and has combined for a .386 on-base percentage with a .278 overall batting average.

This means that in 6 less games played, Teixeira has out hit Pena significantly in the batter’s box. Teixiera has also outplayed Pena in the field keeping a perfect fielding percentage with 0 errors, compared to Pena’s 8 errors on the season. Furthermore, consider the fact that both these players play in the same thorny division with identical schedules, and it becomes clear that Pena falls short of the Mark this year. (Yes, pun intended.) Teixeira’s incredibly low strikeout count provides insulation to his cause, and his on-base and batting averages complete the dominance over the Rays’ first basemen. We can now drop Carolos Pena from the list of All-Star candidates, let’s move onto Branyan and Youkilis.

This comparison is similar to the previous one, and it should be noted that Kevin Youkilis battled a minor injury in the beginning of the season that prevented him from playing a few games. However, even with this time missed, he’s still producing season stats that swallow those of his competitors, a notable accomplishment when analyzing All-Star eligibility.

Russell Branyan: In 68 games Branyan has scored 46 times, earned 73 hits, hit 14 doubles and 19 homeruns, driven in 40 RBI’s, struck out 79 times and has combined for a .394 on-base percentage with a .298 overall batting average.

Kevin Youkilis: In 64 games Youkilis has scored 49 times, earned 71 hits, hit 19 doubles and 14 homeruns, driven in 47 RBI’s, struck out 61 times and has combined for a .439 on-base percentage with a .314 overall batting average.

The balance is obviously much finer in this comparison, however Youk has managed to drive in more runs, strike out less times, hit for a higher batting average, and spend much more time on base than Branyan. Youkilis has also battled through injury, missed games, faced a much harder lineup of pitchers and teams, and played the field superiorly with only 1 error to his name, while Branyan has racked up 6 fielding errors.

With the stats laid out and contrasted, I find it very hard to grant an All-Star bid to Branyan or Pena over the 2009 performances of both Youk and Tex. It’s also worth mentioning the likes of Justin Morneau, who has produced similar stats with the Twins as Pena and Branyan. But even after the all the stats and hard evidence has been consulted, there’s still one more thing that probes at my judgment of these players, something entirely conceptual and even, dare I say, emotional.

The Yankees and the Red Sox are, in my mind, the two undisputed power house teams in the Majors right now. The Dodgers are hanging around with a great win percentage, but they face a National League that doesn’t offer much competition and live in a division where a .550 win percentage could feasibly take first place. The Rays are a young club with proven potential, but as we’re seeing this season they just aren’t quite up to par with the likes of Boston and New York. (I don’t think it’s too early to dismiss Tampa from playoff contention.)

That said, both these teams have weathered their share of troubles this season: the Yanks with their faulty pitching and early season injuries, and the Sox with their seemingly weak offense and consistent string of plaguing injuries. Still, they’re racing forward in a battle that will surely come down to the bitter end of the September schedule. Certain players have stepped up on both teams to grind out extra inning wins, and make the difference between great ball clubs, and championship caliber ones. In my opinion, Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira are the difference. I’ve watched their seasons play out, both confronting early season set-backs, and we’ve all seen them break late ties and provide that extra power. Teixeira has added indispensable life to a Yankee offense that needed his bat and presence desperately, and his stats display this. Youk has exhibited his famous work ethic and gritty passion for the game with constant hard-fought at bats and big hits. Let’s use an example from last night: bottom of the ninth inning, Red Sox are down 5-1 against the O’s. Youkilis comes up with a man on first and belts an opposite field homerun off a pitch that was almost impossible to carry upwards. The sox rally behind his momentum and win 6-5. These kinds of at-bats have been routine for Youk as well as Tex all season long. Essentially, both of these guys have provided endless clutch performances and deserve to be honored with an All-Star nod not only for their big stats, but for their momentous contributions to their teams.

As a Sox fan to the death, of course I’d enjoy seeing Youkilis represent in St. Louis with the rest of the American League All-Stars, but I wouldn’t disagree with seeing Teixeira present either. Both of these guys deserve acknowledgement for their seasons, and in my mind, they’re the only obvious choices to choose from. If there’s one thing that can possibly hint the outcome, it’s the current numbers which place Youkilis slightly in front of Tex, with Minnesota’s Justin Morneau trailing farther back in third.