The American League All-Star Team

When I make out my All-Star ballots, I don't really think about the numbers. They inform my picks to a point, but I think the All-Star Game is about something more than just excellent performance — it's about style, competitiveness, and who represents the game at its best. It's also about subjectivity. Not liking the cut of a player's jib is, in my view, a fine reason to not vote for him. With that disclaimer, here's my American League ballot. Yesterday I complained of the lack of depth at several National League positions; it says a lot about the disparity between the two leagues that there isn't a single weak position in the AL.

1B — KEVIN YOUKILIS, RED SOX

If you go to the ballpark and grab an actual ballot this week, you'll note that Kevin Youkilis is not on it, while his teammate David Ortiz and Cleveland's equally imposing Travis Hafner are. It's unjust and makes no sense. Ortiz and Hafner have played in a combined 18 games at first base this year. This is because they're not first basemen; by the logic that allows them to be listed as first basemen on the ballot, you may as well list them as shortstops.

Strictly on merits, Mark Teixeira probably deserves a vote here, but he must be the most colorless star in baseball, and among the more overrated. He's a very good player, but no better than Mark Grace was. Youkilis is having a superb season for an excellent team and plays as hard as anyone. He got my write-in vote.

2B — B.J. UPTON, DEVIL RAYS

One of the better stories of this season is taking place in Tampa Bay. B.J. Upton, who is all of 22, was ready to play in the majors years ago. He was such a strong hitter he probably could have been an above average designated hitter at 20. Tampa Bay, though, stubbornly insisted that he play shortstop, despite his inability to do so. Now at second base, he's hitting as well as Teixeira is while playing passable defense at the keystone, and he has every chance of taking the field as an All-Star for the next 10 years. He'll have to earn it, though — between Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia, and Howie Kendrick, he should have some fine competition, and he's not going to remain a .320 hitter if he keeps striking out in over a third of his at-bats.

3B— ALEX RODRIGUEZ, YANKEES

Is anyone still willing to argue with a straight face that Alex Rodriguez can't play in New York? Probably so. Yankees fans might want to note not only that Rodriguez can opt out of his contract in October, but that Boston third baseman Mike Lowell's contract will be up in October as well.

SS — DEREK JETER, YANKEES

As remarkable a player as Derek Jeter is, the rise in his batting average as he's begun to age is outright freakish — after five years as a .290–.310 hitter, he hit .343 last year and is hitting .342 this year. It's hard to praise him because he's praised so much, but over the last two years he's been every bit the player he was always reputed to be. Talk of him breaking Pete Rose's hits record is preposterous, but he does have an outside shot at Rickey Henderson's runs record. If he maintains his career rates of 146 games per season and 111 runs scored per 146 games for another eight-and-a-half years, he'll be there. It's a very long shot, but he just might be able to do it.

C — JOE MAUER, TWINS

With Joe Mauer, who has the bat of an All-Star first baseman and Gold Glove defensive skills, the only question is health. Having missed nearly all of May with a strained left quadriceps muscle, Mauer hasn't dispelled the concerns this year, and because he missed so much time he hasn't been as valuable as Jorge Posada or Victor Martinez, but he's such a great and historically unique player that I just have to vote for him. As great as Derek Jeter is, for instance, he's in a recognizable line of players; there's never been a player quite like Mauer, who doesn't hit home runs but hits for exceptionally high averages and line drive power while playing extraordinarily well behind the plate. He may not stick at catcher in the long run, but while he does he deserves this spot.

LF — CARL CRAWFORD, DEVIL RAYS

I would cheerfully vote for Carl Crawford in almost any circumstances, and I have voted for him even when he clearly wasn't the best left fielder in the league. He's every bit the player Mets fans hope Carlos Gomez will one day be, someone with no real holes in his game and extraordinary, gamechanging speed. He's just a pleasure to watch. As is, he's probably been the best player at the position this year — he's hit about as well as Manny Ramirez, and unlike the spacey Boston slugger, he isn't a legendarily horrible defender. One day the Devil Rays will be a very good team, and Crawford will be very famous.

CF — ICHIRO SUZUKI, MARINERS

Like Crawford, Ichiro Suzuki has won my vote in the past over somewhat better players, largely on aesthetic grounds — who wouldn't cast a vote for the scientific place hitter over the muscled-up slugger? As he is now playing center field rather than right field, he clearly deserves a vote strictly on those merits, even over the wonderful Grady Sizemore. He's enjoying his best season at the plate, and he's much more valuable in center both because his great defense counts more there and because center fielders hit less than right fielders do. Suzuki is one of the game's genuine treasures.

RF — VLADIMIR GUERRERO, ANGELS

This is probably the hardest choice on the ballot. Detroit's Magglio Ordonez is hitting like an absolute monster, and his play has made the difference for the firstplace Tigers in baseball's toughest division. The Angels, though, are even better, and while Guerrero is having his typical season, his typical season is of MVP caliber. Given the choice, I'll pick the future Hall of Famer over the good player having a great season, especially when, as is the case here, the future Hall of Famer is one of the most unusual and thrilling hitters in the game.

tmarchman@nysun.com