Can someone explain to me WHY Jason Varitek is on the all-star team????

[LSK]

He is hitting a whopping .215 today.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5921


Yet you have A.J. Pierzynski hitting .293 on a 1st place team not going!!!
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6109

What is the justification of this????????????

[SpiralHawk]

1. He's being rewarded for last season?

just sayin...

[rinsd]

9. Would that be the .255 he hit in the reg season or his "blistering" .269 in the playoffs?

[SpiralHawk]

11. Or the 2 World Series championships he Captained the Sox to win?

[ticapnews]

2. The players voted him onto the team.

Take it up with them.

[hughee99]

3. That's probably why Pierzynski didn't make it, even with his numbers.

As I understand it, he's not well liked by many other players.

[mduffy31]

5. Not well liked is an understatement

Hated is more like it. After he was traded from the Twins there was no end to stories about how his teammates didn't like him.

[hughee99]

6. I was being polite. :)

[LSK]

7. are you sure? I thought the ALL Star manager had a say???

[ticapnews]

12. Yes, I am quite sure.

Look, we all know how this All-Star stuff has worked over the years, whether the participants have been chosen by the fans, managers or players. Somebody always gets jobbed. Among the nine American League catchers with at least 200 plate appearances this season, Varitek ranks ninth in batting average and eighth in OPS. Among qualifying AL catchers, only Chicago’s A.J. Pierzynski has thrown out a lesser percentage of base stealers.

So aside from Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, why was Varitek named on more player ballots than any other AL catcher? Because opponents understand Varitek’s value as a leader and signal-caller, the latter of which is renowned throughout the league. Add in the fact that player ballots were cast nearly two weeks ago and Varitek’s current slump looks half as bad.

Rather than going by batting average, the players may have looked at another stat: number of no-hitters caught :)

[IndianaJones]

4. tell me how the team with the lowest ERA doesn't have a pitcher on the All Star roster. nt.

[rinsd]

8. Because players are little better than fans while picking the best during a given year.

They go by rep though Varitek has maybe been one of the best 3 catchers in the league in only 2 or 3 season for his career so I don't understand it.

For more evidence, see Palmeiro's Gold Glove at 1st base in a year when he started a total of 27 games there.

[madinmaryland]

10. It's the vast northeast sports conspiracy that has enveloped the sporting

world.

:shrug:

[Captain Hilts]

13. You must be Michael Wilbon....nt

[WilliamPitt]

14. He's the best on-field manager of pitchers you'll ever see.

He runs the games, manages the pitchers, and knows every opposing batter inside and out.

Hitting isn't everything. If Tek was batting .000, he'd still be an All-Star.