Season 45 All-Star Blog

Season 45 Midseason Classic

Seven seasons have passed since I posted the what used to be the annual Pine Tar All-Star blog.  The all-star blog highlights all-stars by team and division, first time all-stars, youngest all-stars, veteran all-stars, highest paid all-stars, and "diamond in the rough" all-stars.  I didn't have much time for analysis, so I made some points below.

-The National League jumped on the AL early and never looked back, as they won by the score of 10-2.  Click here to view the box score.
-Seattle Strikers' 2B Juan Carlos Guzman was awarded the Most Valuable Player award in his first all-star appearance. The 25-year old Guzman hit a 3-run bomb in the 3rd inning to break the game open.
-The Homerun Derby champ was also making his first all-star appearance.  Syracuse Nationals 1B Henderson Rolls, who only has a power rating of 79, scored an upset win over Durham's Cleatus Wallace in the finals.
-The Durham Doormats and Seattle Strikers led Pine Tar with 6 all-star selections apiece.  These two clubs also lead their respective leagues in wins.
-The AL East and NL South tied for the most all-stars by division.  These divisions would earn both wildcard berths for their respective leagues if the season ended at the all-star break (Syracuse and Boston for the AL East, Louisville and Little Rock for the NL South).
-Over 50 percent (31 out of 60) of the all-star rosters were made up of first-time all-stars.  The last time that this blog was posted, in Season 38, only 35% of the rosters were making their first appearance.  It is nice to see young talent flourishing!
-El Paso Walkers' veteran reliever Alex James made his 12th all-star appearance.  The 36-year old James has 519 career saves and 6 Fireman-of-the-Year awards.
-Jackson Juggernauts pitcher Benny Caminiti is trying to prove that Diamond-in-the-Rough players aren't exactly worthless.  Caminiti made his 3rd all-star appearance and pitched two innings of shutout ball for the National League.

Teams with the most All-Star selections:

Durham Doormats - 6
Seattle Strikers - 6
El Paso Walkers - 4
Honolulu Kamehamehas - 4
Iowa City Hawkeyes - 4
Little Rock Riddlers - 4
Houston Hot Dogs - 4
Syracuse Nationals - 3

All-Stars by Division
AL East - 11
NL South - 11
NL West - 10
AL South - 8
AL West - 8
NL North - 7
AL North - 3
NL East - 2

First Time All-Stars – American League

P - Francisco Tavarez (Doormats)
P - David Hudson (Nationals)
P - Max Almanza (Walkers)
P - Dave Weiss (Kamehamehas)
P - Gabriel Moreno (Screaming Babies)
P - Stan Smith (Walkers)
P - Kenshin Martin (Magnitude)
C - Theodore Sheldon (Rogues)
C - J.O. Valenzuela (Volcanoes)
1B - Dillon Osbourne (Doormats)
1B - Henderson Rolls (Nationals)
2B - Alex Valentin (Volcanoes)
SS - Vic Torcato (Nationals)
SS - Torey Flores (Waiver Claims)
CF - Robert Payton (Oracles)
RF - Tom Burch (Oracles)
DH - Mark Payton (Kamehamehas)

First Time All-Stars – National League

P - Macbeth Raines (Hot Dogs)
P - Rusney Alvarez (Riddlers)
P - Rob Taylor (Strikers)
P - Miguel Ibarra (Phillies)
P - Rondell Maday (Hot Dogs)
P - Arismendy Rijo (Sound Puget)
P - Danny Brede (Hot Dogs)
P - Tony Lecuona (Strikers)
P - Don Cheung (Tornadoes)
C - Danry Polanco (Hawkeyes)
1B - Nick Simmons (Hawkeyes)
2B - Juan Carlos Guzman (Strikers)
2B - Reymond Aparicio (Sound Puget)
SS - Al Javier (Komodo Dragons)

All-Stars Making Their 5th Appearance or Greater
P - Alex James (Walkers) - 12th Appearance
P - Dillon Abbott (Strikers) - 9th Appearance
RF - Roy Wilson (Juice) - 9th Appearance
3B - Jairo Cedeno (Hawkeyes) - 8th Appearance
2B - Naoki Martin (Corduroy) - 7th Appearance
C - Nash Cone (Tornadoes) - 7th Appearance
P - Omar Mercedes (Strikers) - 6th Appearance
3B - Julian Santana (Riddlers) - 6th Appearance
RF - John Rivera (Riddlers) - 6th Appearance
P - Bert Jordan (Thunder) - 5th Appearance
CF - Del Doyle (Kamehamehas) - 5th Appearance
LF - Abraham Logan (Nice for What) - 5th Appearance

All-Stars Who Are 24 Years Old or Younger
RF - Tom Burch (Oracles) - 21 Years Old
2B - Alex Valentin (Volcanoes) - 22
P - Arismendy Rijo (Sounds Puget) - 22
P - Kenshin Martin (Magnitude) - 23
SS - Torey Flores (Waiver Claims) - 23
P - Macbeth Raines (Hot Dogs) - 23
P - Rondell Maday (Hot Dogs) - 23
2B - Reymond Aparicio (Sounds Puget) - 23
P - Max Almanza (Walkers) - 24
P - Don Cheung (Tornadoes) - 24
C - Danry Polanco (Hawkeyes) - 24

Highest Paid All-Stars
3B - Jairo Cedeno (Hawkeyes) - $30,000,000
P - Gabriel Moreno (Screaming Babies) - $22,250,000
P - Omar Mercedes (Strikers) - $20,000,000
P - Greg Lamb (Hawkeyes) - $15,800,000
RF - Roy Wilson (Juice) - $15,500,000
P - Cleatus Lundquist (Blizzard) - $10,750,000

"Diamond in the Rough" All-Stars
P - Benny Caminiti (Jaggernauts) - 3rd Appearance
P - David Hudson (Nationals)
P - Dave Weiss (Kamehamehas)