The Minnesota Twins will send 3 players to represent them in St. Louis for the 2009 All-Star Game and all of them were worthy.

Joe Mauer, who was 2nd of all players in voting will be the starting catcher for the AL squad, while 1B Justin Morneau and Closer Joe Nathan will also make the trip.

Mauer is a no-doubt about it starter, and Nathan is an unquestionable choice for the pitching staff, but in my opinion Morneau is the victim of the flawed fan voting system to pick the teams starters, as I feel he is more deserving than Boston’s Kevin Youkilis or the Yankees Mark Teixeira to be the AL starter at 1B. Lets look at the stats:

Morneau: .323 avg, 21 HR, 69 RBI in 82 games.

Youkilis: .301 avg, 14 HR, 47 RBI in 67 games.

Teixeira: .273 avg, 20 HR, 61 RBI in 78 games.

This looks only at the stats that make up the Triple Crown, but as you can see, Morneau is superior in every category, and also leads them all in virtually every offensive category, official and non-official.

Now I believe that Teixeira and Youkilis are both deserving of being All-Stars, as they are also having fantastic seasons, but neither of them deserves to start in the game over Morneau. He is the best hitter, best power hitter, most productive hitter, and arguably the best
defensively of the three (from his roots as a Hockey goalie) and definitely the most underrated in that regard.

I love the fact that the fans get to vote on the All-Stars, but the fact that Morneau came in 3rd in voting at first base demonstrates the flaws that exist. The bigger markets can squeeze in their guys that are less deserving than other player’s because of pool of fans they have to cast those votes. I would much rather see the guys who earn the right to start in the game start, rather than the favorite’s from teams like Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.

You can still let the fans vote, but let them fill out the roster rather than pick the starting nine, leave that to the coaches and players so we can see the best group of guys out there for the game of All-Stars, which it is meant to be…right?

Anyway, congrats to Joe, Joe, and Justin!

P.S. Morneau: if they call you Jason again this year, I’d boycott the All-Star game for the rest of your career, that’s no way a former MVP and HR Derby Champ should be treated/(not)remembered…

Headlines:

-Detroit Tigers Manager, Jim Leyland, thinks Mauer and Morneau may be the best duo in baseball.

-Starting Pitcher Nick Blackburn is developing into an ace, as he pitched his 3rd complete game in his last 4 starts, while the Twins had 3 as a team all of last season.

-Even if asked, Morneau may forego the HR derby this season, as he looks to enjoy more of an All-Star ‘Break’.

-Both Major Minnesota papers point out the fact that LF Delmon Young has been improving as of late, as he has opened up to more suggestions and coaching.

-ESPN’s Keith Law also points out the problems with this years All-Star selections. (but also omits Morneau from his all-star team entirely, so take some of it with a grain of salt.)

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