Six Boston Red Sox players were selected to play in the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which will take place on Tuesday, July 13 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA.
Third baseman Adrian Beltre, right-handed pitcher Clay Buchholz, left-handed pitcher Jon Lester, catcher Victor Martinez, second baseman Dustin Pedroia and designated hitter David Ortiz were all elected to the American League squad by the Player Ballot, a vote of the players, managers and coaches. First baseman Kevin Youkilis can be selected as the final player on the 34-man roster via the 2010 Sprint All-Star Game Final Vote.
This marks the fourth consecutive Midsummer Classic for which at least six Red Sox were selected, including six in 2007, seven in 2008 and six in 2009.
The Red Sox and Yankees are the only teams to have six players selected to play in this year’s game.
Beltre was selected for the first time to the Game. He ranks third in the Majors with a .341 average and is tied for the lead among A.L. third basemen with 12 home runs.
Buchholz was also selected to his first All-Star Game. He ranks second in the American League with a 2.45 ERA and tied for second in the A.L. with 10 wins.
Lester is also a first-time All-Star selection and he has held opponents to an A.L.-best .204 batting average. He also ranks among league leaders in strikeouts (2nd, 118), wins (T-2nd, 10), innings pitched (T-3rd, 114.0), winning percentage (T-4th, .769) and ERA (5th, 2.76).
Martinez, a three-time All-Star selection, represented Cleveland in 2004, 2007, and 2009. He was leading the Majors with a .431 average against left-handers and was hitting .371 overall in his last 30 games beginning May 19 before landing on the disabled list on June 29.
Pedroia was voted the starting second baseman for each of the last two All-Star Games but did not attend last year due to a family matter. Before being added to the disabled list on June 26, Pedey was tied for the A.L. lead with 24 doubles.
Ortiz has been selected to the A.L. roster for the sixth time, all as a member of the Red Sox. He was selected to five consecutive All-Star games from 2004-08 and was elected to start in four straight Mid-Summer Classics from 2005-07. He ranks third among qualifying Major Leaguers in both home run ratio (13.41 AB/HR) and RBI ratio (4.22 AB/RBI).
Since Martinez and Pedroia are both on the DL and will be unable to play in the All-Star Game, they replaced by the next highest vote-getters at their position. Toronto catcher John Buck and Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler were added to the roster to replace them.
Fans can now begin voting to select the final player via the 2010 Sprint All-Star Game Final Vote, casting their votes exclusively online at MLB.com over a four-day period. The winners will be announced after the voting concludes on Thursday, July 8.
American League
Starters
1B – Justin Morneau, Twins
2B – Robinson Cano, Yankees
SS – Derek Jeter, Yankees
3B – Evan Longoria, Rays
C – Joe Mauer, Twins
OF – Josh Hamilton, Rangers
OF – Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
OF – Carl Crawford, Rays
DH – Vladimir Guerrero, Rangers
Pitchers
Clay Buchholz, Red Sox
Trevor Cahill, Athletics
Fausto Carmona, Indians
Neftali Feliz, Rangers
Phil Hughes, Yankees
Cliff Lee, Mariners
Jon Lester, Red Sox
David Price, Rays
Mariano Rivera, Yankees
C.C. Sabathia, Yankees
Joakim Soria, Royals
Matt Thornton, White Sox
Jose Valverde, Tigers
Reserves
C – Victor Martinez, Red Sox (Chosen on player ballot, disabled list)
C – John Buck, Blue Jays (replaces Martinez)
1B – Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
2B – Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox (Chosen on player ballot, disabled list)
2B – Ian Kinsler, Rangers (replaces Pedroia)
2B – Ty Wigginton, Orioles
SS – Elvis Andrus, Rangers
3B – Adrian Beltre, Red Sox
3B – Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
OF – Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
OF – Torii Hunter, Angels
OF – Vernon Wells, Blue Jays
DH – David Ortiz, Red Sox
National League
Starters
1B – Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2B – Chase Utley, Phillies (Chosen on fan ballot, disabled list)
SS – Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
3B – David Wright, Mets
C – Yadier Molina, Cardinals
OF – Ryan Braun, Brewers
OF – Andre Ethier, Dodgers
OF – Jason Heyward, Braves
Pitchers
Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers
Matt Capps, Nationals
Chris Carpenter, Cardinals
Yovani Gallardo, Brewers
Roy Halladay, Phillies
Tim Hudson, Braves
Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies
Josh Johnson, Marlins
Tim Lincecum, Giants
Evan Meek, Pirates
Arthur Rhodes, Reds
Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
Brian Wilson, Giants
Reserves
C – Brian McCann, Braves
1B – Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
1B – Ryan Howard, Phillies
2B – Brandon Phillips, Reds
2B – Martin Prado, Braves (Replaces Utley in lineup)
SS – Troy Tulowitski, Rockies (Chosen on player ballot, disabled list)
SS – Jose Reyes, Mets (Replaces Tulowitski)
3B – Omar Infante, Braves
3B – Scott Rolen, Reds
OF – Michael Bourn, Astros
OF – Marlon Byrd, Cubs
OF – Corey Hart, Brewers
OF – Matt Holliday, Cardinals
OF – Chris Young, Diamondbacks
