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1998 NL All-Stars

© Greg Spira

Picking the 1998 NL All-Stars was a rougher assignment than picking the AL All-Stars. There was no real All-Star talent on three different teams, which meant I had to replace genuine All-Stars with marginals in order to follow the rules set down by MLB and pick at least one player from each team. Since the NL has two more teams than the AL, this added to the difficulty. For more on my philosophy on picking out All-Stars and my AL picks, check outmy previous article.

Here are my picks.

Catcher: Piazza. Only because he just had the greatest five offensive seasons for any MLB catcher ever. Backed up by rising star Jason Kendall.

First Base: Mark McGwire. And there's a home run. Andres Gallaraga has earned the right to backup McGwire with his tremendous start. Jeff Bagwell was unfortunately pushed off the team.

Second Base: Craig Biggio. An MVP candidate every year for his great all around play. His backup will be a third baseman. Mickey Morandini and Delino Deshields were considered but did not make the team.

Third Base: Chipper Jones has finally emerged as a superstar and deserves the start. Last year's Rookie of the Year, Scott Rolen, will be Jones' formidable backup. Jeff Cirillo was also selected because there had to be a Brewer, and Cirillo can play second if needed.

Shortstop: An extreme paucity of talent leads choosing Rich Aurilia of the Giants as the starter, with Edgar Renteria as the backup and Marlins' representative. Other candidates - Walt Weiss, Barry Larkin, Royce Clayton and Jeff Blauser - were considered but none fit the bill.

Outfield: Bonds will start in left, Lankford in center, and Walker in right. These three superstars will be backed up by Rondell White, Tony Gwynn, Gary Sheffield, and Sammy Sosa, and Moises Alou. Brian Jordan got nudged off the team by the overcrowding. Jeremy Burnitz was just edged by Cirillo as the Brewers representative.

Pitchers: All-time great Greg Maddux gets to start another All-Star game. The other starters chosen include former replacement player Rick Reed, strikeout king Curt Schilling, former Marlins Kevin Brown and Al Leiter, as well as Brian Anderson, the Diamondbacks' representative, Pete Harnisch, a great comeback story, Pirates ace Francisco Cordova, and Padres ace Andy Ashby. The only reliever chosen in a league much thinner in closers than the AL is Trevor Hoffman. Robb Nen was pushed off the list.

Check out my article on why there's been no offensive explosion this year

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