Kuzul

You can have the NBA three-point contest and entire NFL Pro Bowl weekend. I’ll take the Home Run Derby.

Of all the exhibition events in sports, there isn’t anything quite as entertaining as MLB All-Star weekend’s marquee contest. Forget the game. People dig the long ball.

The All-Star game has its merits—especially with the added importance of determining home-field advantage for the World Series—but even with the changes, the game is still just an exhibition. You can’t paint a horse and call it a zebra.

There’s no mistaking this animal, though. The Home Run Derby is everything Major League Baseball markets it is. If you want to see eight mashers doing their best to knock the cover off some baseballs á la Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez in The Sandlot, you’ve come to the right place.

Need more incentive to watch the Home Run Derby? Let’s do it by the numbers.

41 – Bobby Abreu’s Home Run Total in 2005

Bobby Abreu wasn’t holding back in 2005 when he crushed 41 home runs in the competition. If for no other reason, fans should tune in to see if one of this year’s challengers can top that mark. My money is on Chris Davis.

28 – Josh Hamilton’s First-Round Total in 2008

Abreu holds the record for most dingers in a Home Run Derby, but Josh Hamilton put him to shame in 2008 with a first-round total of 28. The guy just couldn’t stop.

Hamilton went on to lose the contest that year in favor of Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, but his feat stands. Good luck topping that number this year, anyone.

33 – Chris Davis’ Regular Season Home Run Total this Year

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis has been on a torrid pace this season, already hammering home 33 long balls to this point. Facing batting practice pitches from a hurler of his choosing, it’s hard to expect Davis to not top that total in the Home Run Derby this year.

133 – Total Homers Hit By Seven Announced Participants this Season

Seven of the eight Home Run Derby participants have been chosen so far with the final American League spot still up in the air. The seven announced participants have tallied 133 home runs in the first half of 2013, including 24 from Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

Baseball Tonight tweeted the rosters for each squad following the selection:

488 – Mark McGwire’s Longest Shot at Fenway in 1999

Quantity is great, but don’t forget about quality.

In 1999, Mark McGwire put on a masterful display at Fenway Park, but none of his 13 first-round home runs compared to the shot he put over the Green Monster estimated at 488 feet.

Something tells me Prince Fielder will pop a couple shots like that this year.

519 – Frank Thomas’ Even Longer Home Run at Three Rivers in 1994

I’m still not sure anyone will ever come close to matching the power of the “Big Hurt.”

In 1994, Frank Thomas set out to knock a ball into the next county with a 519-footer out of Three Rivers Stadium that still hasn’t landed. Need another reason to watch this year?

$615,000 – Total Amount Donated to Charity Last Year

The Home Run Derby is simply a fun event that gets people excited about baseball. At its core, the contest is little more than an enjoyable competition that brings out the friendlier side of the sport.

Major League Baseball has done its best to market the derby as such, but the league also does its philanthropic duty in donating to the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Last year, the MLB donated $440,000 to the organization and another $120,000 to local youth organizations, donating $615,000 in total adding in other contributions, per MLB.com.

Between the family atmosphere, lighthearted fun and towering moonshots, there really isn‘t a reason to not watch the Home Run Derby.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The starting pitchers for the 2013 All-Star game have not yet been announced, but it’s clear that there are a few pitchers who deserve to start.

Pitchers who deserve to start are not only having great years, but stand out in one or more particular categories.

Which pitchers deserve to start? Read on to find out. 

Patrick Corbin

Corbin is not a household name, but he still deserves a chance to start. The 23-year-old has a 10-1 record, with a 2.40 ERA and a dazzling 0.98 WHIP.

He has the best winning percentage in the NL, while also boasting the fifth-best ERA. 

He’s unheralded to be sure, and he made his debut a little over a year ago. But he has four elite pitches and has been the most consistent pitcher in the NL.

The country needs to be introduced to Corbin, and there is no better place than on the mound in the first inning of the All-Star game.

Clayton Kershaw

Kershaw is leading the NL in most major pitching categories. He has the best ERA at 1.89, and has pitched the most innings, at 138.1.

He is second in the league in strikeouts with 129 and has the best WHIP, at 0.90.

The 8-5 record isn’t pretty, but that’s mostly due to a lack of run support.

On pure numbers, Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball. That fact alone is enough to give him the starting gig.

Kershaw has said all the right things about the starting job, including telling FoxSports.com that Matt Harvey deserves the start: “There’s no reason, especially if it’s in New York, that he shouldn’t start. That’s what the fans will want. I’ve got no problem with that.”

While the humility is endearing, Kershaw is the one who deserves the start. He simply has the best numbers. 

Max Scherzer

Scherzer is putting up terrific numbers this year. He has a 13-0 record, with a 3.06 ERA, 146 strikeouts and a batting average against of .200.

The fact that he hasn’t lost all year makes him worthy of taking the hill as the starter. It also doesn’t hurt that his every day manager, Jim Leyland, will be coaching the AL squad.

Scherzer‘s fantastic start deserves to be rewarded. It’s not often that a pitcher logs so many important innings for a contender and simply does not lose.

He’s one of the most valuable pitchers in baseball and should be rewarded with the start. 

Mariano Rivera

Yes, choosing Mariano Rivera would be an unconventional choice. The legendary closer is used to starting the ninth inning, not the first.

But Rivera is retiring at the end of the season, and the greatest closer who ever lived deserves a fitting send-off. 

If he is installed as the AL closer, there is no guarantee that he pitches in the bottom of the ninth. Jim Leyland will give him every chance to pitch, but if the American League is losing badly in the eighth, his appearance will lose its luster. 

Starting him is undoubtedly sentimental, but it ensures the legend can end his All-Star career with the pomp and circumstance it deserves. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Saturday evening marked the release of the 2013 MLB All-Star roster for the American and National League squads.

Since the fans get the final say, there are bound to be disagreements, but there were several players who were particularly undeserving of such gaudy status.

In some instances, the league’s lowly teams have to send at least one player, and that resulted in a rather strange selection. However, there were others who didn’t quite do enough to be deserving of a nod to the Midsummer Classic.

Let’s take a look at the rosters, then analyze three of the players who stood out as somewhat surprising selections in pro baseball’s showcase of top-notch stars.

Note: Results were obtained from Fox’s All-Star Selection Show telecast. Results and rosters will be updated when voting is finalized.

American League Roster

*Denotes starter

National League Roster

*Denotes starter

Jason Castro, C, Houston Astros

This was simply a case of the Astros not having a much better option, and it forced Castro onto the squad as a third catcher behind Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins and Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals.

As ESPN’s David Schoenfield points out, Perez was voted in by the players as the backup, which essentially shoved Castro in by default. That prevented stars at other positions from making the team—and more deserving ones at that.

Castro is hitting the best he ever has in his career, but that’s still only good enough for a .270 average to date. It also included a recent 2-for-15 slump, via ESPN, so it’s likely he’s trending downward.

It’s nice that Castro’s improvement has been recognized, but it’s all relative. His selection should spur the debate about each team requiring one All-Star selection apiece.

Marco Scutaro, 2B, San Francisco Giants

The National League side is difficult to pick bones with. A case could be made for Washington Nationals prodigy Bryce Harper, but he’s so talented and missed significant time with an injury. It’s not as if he isn’t worthy.

Scutaro, on the other hand, seems like more of a sentimental pick in a sense, given that this is his first All-Star Game at age 37.

Perhaps he’s still riding the wave of his World Series heroics from last year, but whatever the case, Scutaro is a bit of a perplexing pick. NL manager Bruce Bochy may have shown some favoritism by choosing his own player from San Francisco.

Second base is arguably the position that the National League has the least depth at, which is why it was strange that Bochy elected to take three of them.

Again, though, this is a bit of harsh criticism, because it’s very difficult to contest any of the players on the NL’s deep team.

Justin Masterson, P, Cleveland Indians

The towering 6’6″, 250-pounder has won 10 games and dropped seven in 2013 and has an unimpressive ERA of 3.78.

Last year, Masterson‘s showing in that statistic was far poorer, as it ballooned up near five earned runs yielded per appearance. However, the improvement he’s shown isn’t enough to warrant an All-Star selection.

It would be one thing if he’d had a Cy Young-caliber campaign on his resume and was having a so-so year—such as, say, Detroit Tigers flamethrower Justin Verlander.

That’s not the case with Masterson, though, and he’s tied for 17th in the AL in WHIP (1.22). Masterson just does not have enough substance behind his candidacy to deserve the selection.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Most of the 2013 MLB All-Stars were revealed on Saturday, but another phase of the selection process is just beginning. Thanks to the Final Vote, fans can choose additional players for the American and National League rosters.

These are the 10 talented candidates vying for your affection:

Quality of first-half performance, historical trends and common sense allow us to closely approximate their odds of winning. 

*All video clips courtesy of MLB.com.

Begin Slideshow

The Oakland Athletics, which are currently tied for first with the Texas Rangers in the American League West and also have the fourth most wins in the majors, only have one All-Star representative: Bartolo Colon.

Colon is definitely having a great year and is deserving of this spot; however, excluding Josh Donaldson and Grant Balfour from their first All-Star Game is mind-boggling.

Let’s put up some stats:

.317 AVG, 15 HR, 57 RBI, .385 OBP

.315 AVG, 6 HR, 42 RBI, .344 OBP

One of the lines is for Donaldson, and the other is for an AL All-Star reserve. Which one do you think is Donaldson’s? Obviously the second one, right?

Wrong.

The second line is for AL reserve Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles. Donaldson has the top line and the better numbers. He leads Machado in every meaningful category.

David Schoenfield and Tristan Cockcroft of ESPN did a piece on Machado, asking if he has what it takes to be the AL MVP. The initial take on him is that he’s a defensive monster at third, and they are calling him an “all-time great.” They even compared Machado to Brooks Robinson.

I think it’s a little early to start throwing names around like that.

While not as defensively sound as Machado, Donaldson is certainly up there as a great defensive third baseman. Furthermore, he is a more consistent and clutch hitter than Machado. In multiple games this year, Donaldson has come through with a key hit or game-winning home run that propelled the A’s into the win column.

He’s also outperformed Machado in 59 less at-bats.

Now onto Balfour.

The Oakland closer has successfully converted his last 40 save opportunities, which ties him with Dennis Eckersley for the longest streak in A’s history. His line reads perfect: 22-of-22 in save tries with a 1.82 ERA.

If we were to compare his stats with those of Minnesota Twin Glen Perkins, we would see striking similarities with the case of Donaldson over Machado.

Grant Balfour: 1.82 ERA, 22 Saves, 35 K

Glen Perkins: 1.93 ERA, 20 Saves, 45 K

Ten more strikeouts do not make an All-Star. Joe Nathan of the Texas Rangers—another All-Star reserve—isn’t perfect in his save attempts like Balfour is, and AL reserve Jesse Crain doesn’t even have a single save, although he is more of a setup man.

Balfour told John Hickey on IBABuzz.com:

It’s not always good enough to be perfect. It’s a little frustrating playing for a long time and putting up good numbers. But I guess if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.

I thought that the All-Star Game was about getting the best players on the field to represent their leagues.

Oakland having only one All-Star is hardly a good representation of the American League. The last-place Chicago White Sox have two All-Stars, as do the fourth-place Seattle Mariners. Also, with Colon possibly pitching the day before the All-Star Game and thus not making him eligible to play the next day, the Athletics will be the only team not represented.

Let me echo that again: A first-place team in the league will have zero players in the Midsummer Classic.

Now the question is why? Why have the A’s been snubbed?

It could be the old standby that Oakland is a small-market team and won’t get as much publicity from the main stream media. Maybe it’s because the A’s don’t have the big name star that has the multi-billion dollar contract that has everyone in a frenzy.

What do you think? Drop a note in the comments and maybe we can figure this whole thing out.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With the 2013 MLB All-Star Game rosters finally revealed, some pitchers might be staring at the selections in disbelief. 

The MLB tweeted both rosters’ pitchers:

Because the All-Star selection process isn’t an exact science, there’s plenty of room for error on the part of the fans. Expecting a pool of partisan voters to get the best pitchers into the game is bound to leave some deserving hurlers out in the cold. 

Here are a few pitchers who can make a legitimate claim that they should be pitching in New York. 

Grant Balfour, Oakland Athletics

Tossing aside all advanced metrics and other stats, a closer’s job is to close out games. Nobody has done that more efficiently this season than Oakland Athletics closer Grant Balfour. 

The 35-year-old Australian native has been 22-of-22 on save opportunities and is the only closer who has converted every single save opportunity thrown his way this season. 

Aside from being the best at doing his job this season, Balfour has the stats to warrant a roster spot. He sports a WHIP of 1.10 and an ERA of 1.82. Considering that American League All-Star reliever Mariano Rivera posted a WHIP of 1.21 and ERA of 1.39, those two are close statistically. 

To top it all off, Balfour has set a club record for consecutive saves, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

However, none of that was good enough to earn Balfour a trip to New York.

Francisco Liriano, Pittsburgh Pirates

Yes, Francisco Liriano missed an entire month of the season, but he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball right now. 

If he had enough innings pitched to qualify as a league leader, he would be among the elite in nearly every statistical category. The lefty has an ERA of 2.20, which would be third in the National League.

The 8-3 Liriano has posted an impressive 9.56 K/9 ratio, placing him fourth among National League pitchers. 

Liriano’s exclusion is somewhat understandable because of his lack of innings, but his numbers are good enough for him to have a legitimate gripe about being left off the roster. 

Greg Holland, Kansas City Royals

With all due respect to catcher Salvador Perez and the season he has had for Kansas City, there’s no way that he should have been the team’s All-Star representative over closer Greg Holland. 

Holland is one of the few bright spots on an otherwise struggling team, which isn’t the best place for a closer to be. But he has shined in the role. 

The 27-year-old rocks an ERA of 1.97 and has capitalized on 19-of-21 save opportunities while posting a K/9 ratio of 14.9—a number that is only topped by Cincinnati Reds flamethrower Aroldis Chapman. 

Playing in the oft-overlooked Royals organization, Holland was bound to be neglected by fans, but few pitchers have better numbers. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The 2013 MLB All-Star Game rosters have been announced, and on paper, it’s clear which team has the advantage. Home-field advantage in this year’s World Series is on the line, and the National League will earn that honor.

Playing in the New York Mets’ Citi Field paired with its roster, the National League has the edge on paper. There are plenty of first-timers on the NL squad, but that is not due to any kind of lack of talent in the league. 

Here is the full All-Star roster for both squads, courtesy of MLB.com:

MLB All-Star Game Starters

American League

National League

* = Starter

^ = Injured, will not play

Both teams have exciting and talented rosters, with the American League boasting red-hot Chris Davis and his 33 home runs. Countering Davis and the AL batters’ firepower are Matt Harvey, Clayton Kershaw, Cliff Lee, Madison Bumgarner and others.

Kershaw owns the MLB’s lowest ERA at 1.93, with fellow NL All-Stars Harvey and Adam Wainwright just behind at 2.27 and 2.36, respectively. All three pitchers have struck out at least 117 batters already this season.

American League hurler Felix Hernandez currently owns the 10th-best ERA in the league but does have 130 strikeouts to his name so far. Yu Darvish, Justin Verlander and Chris Sale are other fine AL arms available, but there’s more to like about the National League names.

Aroldis Chapman, Jason Grilli and Craig Kimbrel are available to pitch the last few innings for the NL. Those three have the edge over Glen Perkins, Joe Nathan and Mariano Rivera.

Justin Masterson and Max Scherzer are other weak links on the AL squad. Masterson has been shelled for six earned runs in two of his past three outings.

Scherzer is on a roll this year, but his 2011 and 2012 seasons cannot be forgotten. He finished with an ERA of 3.74 or higher both years and lost two of his three postseason starts last year.

As for batting, having Mike Trout, Davis and Jose Bautista is intimidating paired with David Ortiz and others. 

When you look at the NL with David Wright, Bryce Harper, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Gonzalez, there’s a lot to like for the home team. 

The batting is a bit of a wash. Wright doesn’t have the pop that AL third baseman Davis has, but he knows Citi Field better than anyone in the All-Star game. No manager could go wrong with either team’s starting outfielders.

Like other recent All-Star Games, this one will come down to pitching. Over the past three All-Star Games, the American League has tallied just two runs and lost each exhibition. Expect the pitching depth of the National League to best the AL for the fourth straight year at Citi Field.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The 2013 MLB All-Star Game rosters have been announced, with the game set to be played on July 16 at Citi Field in New York.

There will no doubt be some tinkering with the rosters in the days ahead, as starting pitchers may need to be replaced depending on when their final first-half start will be and injuries could force players out of action in the Midsummer Classic.

As it stands, there will be at least one more player joining each roster, with the finalists for the Final Vote roster spot announced.

In the American League, relievers Joaquin Benoit (DET), Steve Delabar (TOR), David Robertson (NYY), Tanner Scheppers (TEX) and Koji Uehara (BOS) are vying for the final spot. 

In the National League, it will be a position player with Ian Desmond (WAS), Freddie Freeman (ATL), Adrian Gonzalez (LAD), Hunter Pence (SF) and rookie phenom Yasiel Puig (LAD) on the ballot for the final spot.

For the time being however, the 2013 MLB All-Star Game rosters stand as follows.

Begin Slideshow

The roster announcement for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game serves two purposes. It gives us our first chance to look at what we can expect in the Midsummer Classic—and it leaves plenty of room for debate and uproar.

No All-Star roster is going to be perfect for everyone, because we all have different tastes. We want to see the best players on our favorite team get rewarded for a strong first half, though I maintain that is a horrible way to pick an All-Star.

The game is supposed to be about marketing baseball to an audience that might not otherwise watch the sport at this time of year, so you want to put your best and biggest stars on the same field. Who cares if a reliever for the Miami Marlins having a good season goes to New York this year?

With so much room for interpretation as to what actually constitutes an All-Star, here are the biggest shocks, snubs and surprises from this year’s roster, which was announced on Saturday night.

Begin Slideshow

The 2013 MLB All-Star roster was revealed on Saturday night, and the Midsummer Classic in New York’s Citi Field promises to be yet another tremendous showcase of premier professional baseball talent.

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis leads all of baseball with 33 home runs and has already driven in 85 runs. Thus, it’s no surprise that he’s the leading vote-getter overall.

Leading in popularity for the National League is Yadier Molina. The St. Louis Cardinals catcher has been great at the plate and behind it defensively this season. He is batting a sensational .346.

Each squad will start the premier prodigies of their respective leagues in the outfield, too. Los Angeles Angels stud Mike Trout will be part of the AL starting nine, and the same will be true for Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals for the NL.

Let’s take a closer look at the leading vote-getters for each squad’s starting lineup.

Note: Results were obtained from Fox’s All-Star Selection Show telecast. Results and rosters will be updated when voting is finalized.

American League Roster

*Denotes starter

National League Roster

*Denotes starter 

Prediction for last AL Player In: Tanner Scheppers, P, Texas Rangers

Among the other four relief pitcher candidates to make it in with the last-minute fan vote, Scheppers has the lowest ERA at 1.45. Although he’s outmatched in WHIP by some of his peers, he still is deserving of this distinction.

The Rangers have been known for their struggles with pitching, but this young righty is a welcome change in that regard.

Despite the No. 22 ranking in quality starts, Texas still ranks sixth in team ERA. A lot of the credit is due to the bullpen, and Scheppers is the marquee setup man.

In 39 appearances in 2012, the now-26-year-old was shelled in his maiden full MLB campaign and saw his ERA balloon to 4.45.

Scheppers has held the lead 17 times on the bump this season and has a 5-1 record to go along with an impressive .190 opponent’s batting average. His marked improvement should be rewarded, and fans should elect him to the American League roster.

Prediction for last NL Player In: Yasiel Puig, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

The big state of California should have a lot of national sway, and Puig‘s electrifying play thus far in his young career speaks for itself.

Puig is simply a phenom, with power to both sides of the field and a cannon for an arm.

In just 31 games, the Dodgers’ sensation is batting .420 with eight home runs and 19 RBI. He’s turned many heads—even those who aren’t diehard baseball fanatics.

No other player in recent memory has burst onto the scene quite in the fashion that Puig has. It’s a small sample size, but by reaching the 50-hit milestone in his first 30 games, the prodigy joined prestigious company, per ESPN Stats & Info:

There are other respectable players, such as Los Angeles Dodgers star Adrian Gonzalez, who are eligible for the final vote. However, it will be tough for anyone to overcome Puig‘s dazzling start and beat him out for the chance to play at Citi Field on July 16.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com