Anyone who stops at the Rhino and Compass, I assume to beat the summertime heat, likely knows that the only people that Joe Mauer disappoints are stupid people. He gets on base better than any player in the AL, regardless of position. I.E. he is better at not getting out than anyone in the American League. The best. You can tell he has a definite gift for getting on base when he has an OPS+ if 144, despite having a mere 4 home runs. Of course, because of his doubles and a whole boat load of singles, his slugging percentage is higher than Justin Morneau’s. So, it’s not a question of whether or not Mauer is a deserving player. He is one of the best players in baseball, and does so from a premium position.
The real issue, if we are being honest, is that the Twins are terrible, and really only deserve one all star (and don’t get me started on the Cubs), so it becomes a debate between Mauer and Josh Willingham. Willingham is also having a season that, on a better team, would be worthy of an all star nod. The problem with Willingham, and the benefit to Mauer is the position they play. To wit, here is a list of corner outfielders who hit for power in the American League:
Nick Markakis
Cody Ross
Alex Rios
Dayan Viciedo
Shin Soo Choo
Jeff Francouer
Alex Gordon
Torii Hunter
Mark Trumbo
Raul Ibanez
Nick Swisher
Andruw Jones
Jonny Gomes
Seth Smith
Josh Reddick
Mike Carp
Hideki Matsui
Ben Zobrist
Nelson Cruz
David Murphy
Ben Francisco
and, of course, Jose Bautista.
What I’m saying is, a corner outfielder of Willinghams skill set comes a dime a dozen. When you talk about all star snubs, it’s really not difficult to see why a left fielder would be left off the roster.
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