There’s a tight race in the All-Star balloting for National League firstbaseman. As of June 20:
- Albert Pujols 1,283,047
- Derrek Lee 1,117,634
…and Lee seems to making ground.
There is a Lee/Pujols discussion going on over at Baseball Musings with 27 comments and counting.
Now all my baseball friends know two things about me:
- I am a die-hard Cub fan
- Albert Pujols is my favorite active player
If I based my vote on loyalty, this would put me in a bind. Fortunately, I’m able to look past loyalty and and vote for the firstbaseman who deserves it.
Both Lee and Pujols are having All-Star seasons and let’s face it, both will see time in the game. As for who gets my vote, it has to be Derrek Lee. One poster on Baseball Musings put it quite succinctly. What more can Lee do? He leads the NL in BA, rbis, HR and is second in runs and doubles. And something that goes unnoticed, he has 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts.
Lee’s value to his team is unmeasurable. Without Lee, the Cubs would be floundering in 3rd or 4th place in the NL Central. Yes, Pujols contributes much to the Cardinals. He also has a lineup that protects him. Something that Lee doesn’t always have.
I love Albert Pujols. He is no doubt the better firstbaseman over the long haul. He will have the better career. I will go out on a limb and predict that barring injury or scandal, Albert will have a career worthy of Cooperstown (and I will be there when he is inducted).
But he is not this year’s All-Star. That honor should go to Derrek Lee.
D Lee has my vote. How about you?
I don’t think you can only consider a player’s current year performance as the sole basis of an All-Star vote. If that were true, then they should play the All-Star game at the end of the year after the World Series (but please, not in Hawaii like the NFL). I have to give Pujols the edge based on his higher caliber of play over the long term.
“I don’t think you can only consider a player’s current year performance as the sole basis of an All-Star vote.”
Ok, if we’re going on that premise, let’s look at Lee’s stats the last past few years. He’s averaged 28 hr the last past 5 years (not counting this year) and 63 EBHs in the same period.
Better than Pujols the last five years?? Nope. But certainly no flash in the pan, either.
Joe Charboneau he is not.
No doubt, Derrek is consistently good over the years. He’s on a whole new level so far this season. He definitely qualifies as an All-Star 1B. But I think Pujols is blocking him, just like Bonds has been blocking Pujols from the NL MVP the past few seasons.
yeah, and it’s just Albert’s luck that DLee would have a career year this year.