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NL All-Stars

© Greg Spira

When I fill out my All-Star ballots at the ballpark, I use a number of different systems to make my choices. I do not believe that choosing the players who are off to the best starts is the only or even the best way to choose players. In fact, I think the best way to choose players is to choose the players you would most like to see play in the All-Star game, no matter what the reason. Nevertheless, this article is choosing its NL All-Stars based on the players who've played the best overall baseball so far this season.

First Base - Mark McGwire is no slouch, but Jeff Bagwell has been the dominant first baseman in the league this year, and over the past five years. Bagwell is not only a terrific hitter, but an outstanding baserunner and defensive player.

Second Base - Jay Bell is off to his most outstanding start ever, and deserves the nod now over Jeff Kent and Craig Biggio.

Third Base - Fernando Tatis gets the nod here just slightly over Matt Williams because of Tatis has made outs at a much lower rate than Williams.

Shortstop - Barry Larkin and Rich Aurilia have had equivalently valuable seasons, so the more valuable career gets taken into consideration here and makes Larkin the choice.

Left Field - The shockingly successful Luis Gonzalez is the clear cut choice here

Centerfield - No really outstanding options here, so my selection is Brian Giles, who in previous years hasn't been a centerfielder but has started more games in center than at any other position this year.

Right Field - The hardest position to make a choice at, with Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Jeromy Burnitz, Raul Mondesi and Bob Abreu all reasonable options. Since most baseball fans undoubtedly want to see Sosa play, we'll use that as the deciding factor here and make him the choice.

Catcher - Mike Liberthal and Dave Nilsson both have strong cases, but the pick here is Jason Kendall, whose combination of offense and defense probably makes him the best overall catcher in baseball right now.

Starting Pitcher - Randy Johnson has continued to dominate the National League just as he did last year, and that makes him an easy selection

Relief Pitcher - This hasn't been a good year for closers, so the award goes to Reds middle reliever (though he does have 7 saves) Scott Williamson, who has been totally dominating in his 45 innings of work.