Fansided

MLB All-Star Game 2015: 5 bigggest snubs – AL

By Will Osgood

Jul 4, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) hits an RBI single in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 4, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) hits an RBI single in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 4, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) hits an RBI single in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 4, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (13) hits an RBI single in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

3B Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

Look, I’m no more of an A-Rod fan than you are. Or maybe you are an Alex Rodriguez fan. Just like the New York Yankees, he’s the kind of guy you either love or hate.

But to deny this year he’s been outstanding is ignorance at its finest. Without him, by and large, the Yankees would be a mess. With him mostly tearing the cover off the baseball, the Yankees are straddling the line of playoff contention and go back-and-forth between first, second and third place in the American League East.

Sure he’s done it almost exclusively from the designated hitter slot, where there were two other great candidates–Nelson Cruz who won the fan vote and Kendrys Morales, not to mention the other player who got in slotted as a designated hitter, Prince Fielder, despite being a first baseman most of the time he plays for the Texas Rangers.

But the point is about A-Rod and what he’s done this season. His common statistics include 16 home runs and 47 runs batted in. He’s hitting a solid .284 with a really solid .348 on-base percentage, .423 slugging percentage and .771 OPS.

Those are All-Star numbers. And Rodriguez, even now, qualifies as a star. Sure he may bring a circus, and there may have been some resentment or mere apathy among the players and Ned Yost in making their picks.

But the truth is there probably is not a more deserving All-Star this year who did not make it to Cincinnati.

Next: How about a young outfielder?

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