Every single year there is one player that everyone agrees was overlooked for the All-Star Game. This year, that player is A.J. Pierzynski. At age 35, the White Sox catcher is having by far the best first half of his 14-year career. Pierzynski is hitting .291 with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs. His career highs for an entire season are 18 homers and 70 RBIs, so he’s on pace to shatter both marks. Despite his tremendous success at the plate, three other AL catchers were selected to the All-Star team.
The fans voted Mike Napoli in as the AL starter. He is hitting a lowly .235 with 12 homers and 30 RBIs. Baltimore’s Matt Wieters and his .247 average, 11 homers and 40 RBIs were selected by the players as a back-up. And with his choice, AL manager Ron Washington selected Joe Mauer, who is hitting .332 with five homers and 38 RBI. Washington said he felt bad for Pierzynski, but A.J. isn’t buying it.
“If he felt that bad, he would have put me on the team,” Pierzynski told Chicago reporters according to the Dallas Morning News. “He had an opportunity to do it and he didn’t do it. He can feel as bad as he wants, but he obviously didn’t feel that bad.”
When a media member reminded Pierzynski that Napoli is a good hitter, he gave the following response: “Yeah, if you consider .230 good.” On Tuesday night during Chicago’s 19-2 throttling over the Rangers, Pierzynski hit a three-run homer in the fifth and glared toward the Texas dugout.
Based on the numbers, Pierzynski certainly deserves a spot. However, Washington is not the one A.J. should be upset with. In choosing between Mauer and Pierzynski, Washington had the most difficult job. Both deserve to be on the roster over Napoli and Wieters. We see this type of thing every season. Pierzynski just needs to accept that he is this year’s notorious snub and move along.
Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE
