Selecting the Best: The Sox All-Star Nods
If you had told someone in mid-April that David Ortiz would be participating in a Home Run Derby this summer, the most likely response would have been a sarcastic snicker and a comment along the lines of, “For who? The Newark Bears?”
And yet, next week Ortiz will take part in both the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game, headlining a list of six Red Sox selected to the midsummer classic. Dustin Pedroia and Victor Martinez were also selected, while Adrian Beltre and pitchers Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz received their first career nods.
(Reuters Photo)
Of course, you can cross-reference that list with the disabled list and strike a handful of players off the active roster for next Tuesday. Pedroia and Martinez will both be absent, and Buchholz was just placed on the disabled list, as well, and will likely miss the game.
What’s more, the Sox could end up with seven representatives, as Kevin Youkilis – who certainly has the numbers to warrant a selection – is one of the five players eligible for the fan vote that will fill the final roster spot.
All-Stars are nothing new to the Sox, who have had a host of players in the game almost annually over the last handful of years. But this season’s list is particularly satisfying, given both how the team started and who it is taking part in the annual showcase.
Adrian Beltre took a one-year deal with the Red Sox for short money in hopes of resurrecting his career. All he’s done is hit better than .340 while driving in more than 50 runs. And Clay Buchholz entered his first full season as a starter with plenty of questions and enters the All-Star break in the top three in the league in both wins and ERA.
But the best story, at least to this observer, is Ortiz. He was being skewered by the Boston media after the second game – the SECOND game! – of the season against the Yankees, and what followed was a month long slump that had people wondering if the Sox would consider releasing Big Papi.
All he’s done since is turn white hot, anchoring a lineup that has had to play through injuries to just about every key player in the heart of the order. His batting average remains pedestrian, but his power and run production numbers no longer reflect a poor start. He’s deserving of the All-Star honor.
Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis
Much was made on the Boston airwaves over the last few days of the fact that the Red Sox didn’t have anyone voted in by the fans to start the game. That was used as clear evidence that interest in the team is waning and that Red Sox Nation doesn’t have as strong a voice as it once had.
That may be true. In fact, it was almost inevitable. After the storybook seasons of 2004 and 2007 and the ensuing burst of new followers, there’s almost nowhere to go from a fan excitement perspective but down.
But the All-Star game proves the rest of the league is still paying attention. From new stars to old stars, putting six names on the American League roster is quite an accomplishment for a team that began the season playing .500 ball for the first 40 games.
And there’s no better representative in that regard than Ortiz. So tune in Monday to watch Big Papi take his cuts in the Home Run Derby.
For the Boston Red Sox.
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