1998 AL All-Star Team

Putting together an All-Star Team is tougher than it looks. There's no clear definition of an All-Star, for one thing. I certainly don't believe in putting together a team by choosing who had the best first halves - David Segui and Omar Olivares aren't going to make my All-Star team - but you don't want to fill the team with has-been stars either. I try and pick players who are still at the top their game, whether or not they have dominated during April or May, but I do tend to stay away from anyone who has really struggled this season. Then, of course, I have to pick one player from each team, and I'm inevitably forced to take 10 players who I think belong on the list off because of the 28 player limit.

Here's my proposed American League team for the 1998 All-Star game:

Catcher: Ivan Rodriguez. My pick for AL MVP so far. Since there are no other genuine All-Star catchers in the league, I'm going to cheat and not pick a back-up.

First Base: Jim Thome. Probably the best hitter in the league at this point. He's backed up by Frank Thomas, who belongs despite his off-year, and Edgar Martinez, who's long been one of the great hitters in the game. Mo Vaughn and Darin Erstad both have had deserving seasons, but had to be chopped off my list.

Second Base: Roberto Alomar. Still the best around. Chuck Knoblauch, another true star, backs him up, along with one of the true surprises of the year, Damion Easley. Todd Walker deserves to make it, but had to be left off. Mark Mclemore also deserves mention for his fine year so far.

Third Base: Robin Ventura's the best of a weak field, and clearly deserves to start. Dean Palmer backs him up so the Royals can have a representative. Scott Brosius was also considered at this position.

Shortstop: Alex Rodriguez. Backed up by Derek Jeter. Both are here for their offense.

Outfield: Dave Justice starts in left, Ken Griffey Jr. in center and Bob Higginson in right. Backing them up are Bernie Williams, Jim Edmonds, Ben Grieve, and Juan Gonzalez. Paul O'Neill and Tim Salmon got left off the team because of the player limit

Pitching: Hideki Irabu starts, having dominated the league so far. Other starters on hand include Brad Radke, who is pitching even better than he did last year, Rolando Arrojo, the Devil Rays' Cuban ace, Chuck Finley, the Angels' veteran ace, Pedro Martinez, the best paid player in baseball, Roger Clemens, the best AL pitcher since WWII, Bartolo Colon, the Indians young ace. I picked John Wetteland, Tom Gordon, and Mariano Rivera to represent AL bullpens. Justin Thompson, Andy Pettite, and Kenny Rogers are the pitchers I was forced to leave off; Thompson and Pettite are having slight off-years so far but were among the top 5 starters in the league last year, while Rogers has had an excellent year but he has to prove more after his horrendous stint with the Yankees.

The copyright of the article 1998 AL All-Star Team in Baseball is owned by Greg Spira. Permission to republish 1998 AL All-Star Team in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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