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Who Should Be Starting the 2013 All-Star Game?

Posted by

July 16, 2013

The Mid-Summer Classic is upon us! Tonight, the best players from around Major League Baseball will take to New York's Citi Field and compete for home field advantage in this year's World Series.

There is inevitably some controversy over which players make the All-Star teams, specifically in the starting lineups. Baseball fans around the world largely select the starting lineups via online and in-stadium balloting. Let's see how they did by comparing each All-Star starter to the Total Runs leader.
American League Starting Lineup and Total Runs Leaders
Pos All-Star Starter Total Runs Total Runs Leader Total Runs
P Max Scherzer 72 Felix Hernandez 83
C Joe Mauer 87 Joe Mauer 87
1B Chris Davis 90 Chris Davis 90
2B Robinson Cano 90 Dustin Pedroia 91
SS J.J. Hardy 67 Alexei Ramirez 68
3B Miguel Cabrera 106 Miguel Cabrera 106
OF Mike Trout 86 Mike Trout 86
OF Adam Jones 77 Adam Jones 77
OF Jose Bautista 70 Jacoby Ellsbury 82
DH David Ortiz 60 David Ortiz 60

Total Runs doesn't have many issues with the American League starting lineup. Total Runs isn't fooled by Max Scherzer's glittery 13-1 win/loss record and instead prefers Felix Hernandez's 2.53 ERA. Either Robinson Cano or Dustin Pedroia would have been excellent choices to man second base for the AL squad, though Total Runs prefers Jacoby Ellsbury to Jose Bautista as the third outfielder.
National League Starting Lineup and Total Runs Leaders
Pos All-Star Starter Total Runs Total Runs Leader Total Runs
P Matt Harvey 72 Clayton Kershaw 81
C Yadier Molina 79 Buster Posey 80
1B Joey Votto 93 P. Goldschmidt 94
2B B. Phillips 70 Matt Carpenter 91
SS Troy Tulowitzki 68 Jean Segura 83
3B David Wright 89 David Wright 89
OF C. Gonzalez 96 C. Gonzalez 96
OF Carlos Beltran 64 Carlos Gomez 101
OF Bryce Harper 46 A. McCutchen 89
DH M. Cuddyer 60 Joey Votto 93

Over in the National League, Total Runs takes more issue with the starting lineup. On the mound, Total Runs prefers Clayton Kershaw's sub-2.00 ERA to Bruce Bochy's selection of Matt Harvey. Total Runs has Joey Votto and Paul Goldschmidt both in the lineup: one at first base, and one at designated hitter over Michael Cuddyer. Total Runs also prefers newcomers Matt Carpenter and Jean Segura over veterans Brandon Phillips and Troy Tulowitzki. In the outfield, Total Runs recognizes Carlos Gomez's outstanding offensive and defensive play, as well as Andrew McCutchen's leadership of the soaring Pirates. It chooses these two ahead of the solid but not spectacular Carlos Beltran and Bryce Harper, who missed a full month of the season due to a knee injury.

Total Runs, introduced in The Fielding Bible—Volume II, is a Baseball Info Solutions statistic which combines a player's batting, pitching, baserunning, and fielding contributions together into one number. Up-to-date Total Runs can be found on Bill James Online.


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