So MLB released the first totals for the AL All-Star voting on Wednesday and the numbers would be newsworthy if only they weren't so predictable: Six of the league's eight starting position players would be New York Yankees if the All-Star Game were held today. The entire infield — Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano, all pictured above — are leading their respective spots while Russell Martin leads all catchers and Curtis Granderson holds one of the three outfield spots.
The only non-pinstripers currently placing in the money are Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista (who leads all American League players with 1.2+ million fan votes), Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton and Rangers DH Michael Young. (The league's starting pitcher, of course, is tabbed by the manager, not the fan vote.)
This is a natural spot for the anti-Yankee crowd to gripe, but the truth is that I can't get too worked up over it. The Yankees draw well at home, trailing only the Philadelphia Phillies in overall attendance and are baseball's No. 1 draw on the road. As long as the league defers to the common fan when selecting the lineups, each Yankee listed on the ballot is going to attract a large number of votes, regardless of performance.
But let's also not kid ourselves here. The Yankees giant payroll and star-studded roster pretty much ensures that their players are deservedly going to be in the thick of things each summer. Three of the players listed above — Cano, Granderson and Martin — have earned their checkmarks without a doubt, at least so far. Two others — A-Rod and Teixeira — can be included in the debate for the league's best at their position, though other players with equal or stronger claims might end up catching them over the next four weeks. (A-Rod has no doubt been helped by Evan Longoria's early injury and I'm willing to bet that Boston's Adrian Gonzalez ends up catching Teixeira for a first baseman's spot that might rightfully belong to Detroit's Miguel Cabrera anyway.)
That leaves Derek Jeter as the only player who's really pulling off an undeserved heist with his spot (sorry, Asdrubal Cabrera). But let's be honest — There's no way you can hold an All-Star Game and not include The Captain in the same year he collects his 3,000th hit. So considering Cabrera is going to make it anyway and play, put Jeter down for that Cal Ripken-type ASG mainstay role that he's clearly earned.
I know, I know ... Here's the part where everyone points out that the All-Star Game is more than a mere exhibition with homefield advantage riding on the outcome. But it's not like Jeter is going to play short for the entire game. One at-bat and a couple of innings in the field for Jeter isn't going to kill anybody's chances of winning.
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