National League
Batting Average: Hanley Ramirez – .349
Home Runs: Albert Pujols – 32
RBIs: Albert Pujols – 87
Wins: Jason Marquis – 11
ERA: Dan Haren – 2.01
Saves: Heath Bell – 23

American League
Batting Average: Joe Mauer – .373
Home Runs: Carlos Pena – 24
RBIs: Jason Bay – 72
Wins: Beckett and Wakefield – 11
ERA: Zack Greinke – 2.12
Saves: Brian Fuentes – 26

In the NL, Albert Pujols has a great chance to win the MVP and Tim Lincecum has a great chance to win the Cy Young award. In the AL, the MVP race is wide open. Roy Halladay and Zack Greinke are the two favorites for the Cy Young award.

Albert Pujols is the hottest hitter in baseball (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Major League Baseball League Leaders

Victorino won with 15.6 million votes, while Inge won win 11.8 million votes. Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants finished second in the National League fan vote. Ian Kinsler finished second in the American League fan vote.

Inge, who has been extremely valuable to the Tigers due to his ability to play multiple positions, is hitting .264 with 19 homers and 54 RBIs. The 32-year-old is well on his way to having the best season of his big league career.

Victorino rose to fame last year as he helped the Phillies capture the 2009 World Series championship. This season, the 28-year-old outfielder is hitting .309 with six homers and 42 RBIs.

Voting for the final two spots of the All-Star game took place on MLB.com.

Brandon Inge is now an All-Star (Image: Zuma Press)

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Brandon Inge and Shane Victorino Win Vote

MLB Demands Rays Drop Remaining Games Selig: “We Want The Red Sox To Win The East”; Manager Joe Maddon “Irritated”

New York – MLB Commissioner Bud Selig announced that baseball has requested that the Tampa Bay Rays “play ball” and lose their remaining 8 games. “We want the Red Sox to win,” said Selig, who after congratulating the Rays for losing on Sunday to the Twins cautioned the club to make certain all losses were  “plausible.” 

“No one – including their fans – gives a crap about Tampa Bay,” explained Selig. “No one goes to their games. No one watches them on TV.  No one will watch them in the post-season. That’s bad.”

“Bud told me, ”You’ve had your fun,’” explained Rays manager Joe Maddon, “and that we had to finish second. He said it was time to get back to losing like we always do. I don’t agree with that.”

Maddon, who could be guiding the Rays to the greatest single season turnaround in baseball history, admitted the conversation was ”pretty irritating,” even though he understood that baseball was a business focused on making money.

“Bud explained that it was all about TV ratings. Ad money. And I understand we gotta keep food in the owners’ mouths,” said Maddon. “But geez whiz, asking us to lose? That’s cold.”

Maddon said he had a meeting today with Rays’ team owner Stuart Sternberg to discuss the situation. “I don’t know what he’s going to say. This is pretty delicate,” said Maddon.

Despite having the second-best record in the American League at 92-62, Tampa Bay is drawing barely 21,000 fans a game, the league’s lowest figure.

“Most people in Florida are afraid of heights, explained Maddon (Florida is the flattest state in the nation) “and our fans have to drive over high bridges to get to Tropicana Field. That’s just too much to ask of folks.”

Almost nobody – literally – is watching on TV either. Television ratings for the 75 Ray games broadcast on FSN Florida are the lowest ever reported according to ratings company AC Nielsen – and have prompted the team to pay its 2,000 some-odd viewers $4.00 per game to tune in.

“We just can’t stay in business if we have to pay people to watch,” explained team owner Stuart Sternberg. “That’s simply not a viable business model.

“You know, it’s lonely at the top,” said Sternberg, “look at poor Mr. Bush. Maybe we don’t need it.”  

Surprisingly, a number of players seemed to understand the request to embrace defeat. “We don’t make any money, we hardly ever get arrested,” said outfielder B.J. Upton. “We deserve to lose.”

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Rays to Drop Games So Sox Can Nab Division Title?

Here are five reasons why the AL came up with a victory yet again:

 1. Ichiro Suzuki’s pre-game F-Bombs. Move over, Bobby Knight. The Seattle Mariners‘ perpetual All-Star has a nifty peptalk ritual for his AL teammates every year.

2. Florida Marlins second baseman and probable never-again All-Star Dan Uggla set—wait for it, this one’s nice and corny—an Ugg-ly record by committing 3 errors in the game.

3. The NL probably isn’t quite accustomed to the ‘tude in New York. (That’s OK, neither were we last week). More AL teams play in Yankee Stadium and are aware of the exceedingly obnoxious Yankees fans who even booed other AL players challenging atmosphere for an opposing team.

4. Boston Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew rocked, nabbing the MVP in his All-Star debut with a two-run HR during his first at-bat. It probably helped that as a member of the Red Sox, he didn’t get verklempt over the sappy pre-game Yankee lovefest. (We’re guessing Jonathan Papelbon, whose Mariano Rivera remarks made him—along with his pregnant wife—a jeer target, didn’t either).  

5. Yogi Berra was in da house. Yeah, even Sox fans can’t resist his wit. Boo to Joe Buck for giving him the heave-ho in the booth. Yogi was just getting started!

Post from: EveryJoe

5 Reasons the AL Won the All-Star Game