Super subs, super snubs
Five Yanks added to All-Stars; Wood, Irabu, Rolen left off
Posted: Tuesday July 14, 1998 02:25 PM
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Wells, who has a perfect game this season, joins four N.Y. teammates on the American League team (AP) |
NEW YORK (CNN/SIP) -- The New
York Yankees, snubbed by fans in the starters' vote, had five players
added to the American League team Wednesday for next week's All-Star Game at Coors Field.
David
Wells, whose perfect game on May 17 is this season's top moment, was
among the Yankees chosen by AL manager Mike Hargrove to represent the team with baseball's best record.
Shortstop Derek
Jeter, third baseman Scott Brosius
and outfielders Bernie
Williams and Paul O'Neill
also were selected.
"I think it's a recognition of what we've done as a team," said Brosius,
a first time All-Star. "It's a team honor for all of us."
However, 11-game winner David Cone and Hideki Irabu,
the AL's ERA leader, both were left off as were Boston's Nomar
Garciaparra, Chicago's Frank Thomas
and Texas' Rick
Helling (11 wins).
Five members of Florida's 1997 World Series championship team, all traded
away in an off-season payroll purge, were picked as National League
reserves.
Florida manager Jim Leyland selected Moises Alou
(Astros), Kevin
Brown (Padres), Robb Nen (Giants),
Gary
Sheffield (Dodgers) and Devon White
(Diamondbacks). They'll join Edgar
Renteria, the lone representative from this year's Florida club.
"Well, you see those guys scattered around all year, and it will be good
to see some of them again," Brown said Wednesday after beating Oakland for
his 10th win. "That says a lot about what could have been, but that's past
now."
Leyland overlooked the Cubs' rookie phenom Kerry Wood, who tied a record
this season with 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game and had 13 in eight
innings during Wednesday's 6-4 win over Arizona.
"I wasn't expecting to make it," Wood said. "Maybe next year."
One of his teammates thinks Wood belongs among the stars.
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Sorry kid! Rookie phenom Kerry Wood is second in the NL with 139 strikeouts behind Schilling, but will not play in the All-Star game (AP) | |
"I think baseball missed a big chance to get great ratings," Mark Grace said.
"They could market it: 'Kerry Wood starts against the best American League
hitters.' That's the one that's an oversight. That kid is too good to not
go."
Among other notables missing from the NL roster are Philadelphia's Scott Rolen and
St. Louis' Brian
Jordan, who entered Wednesday night's game against Kansas City leading
the NL with a .347 average.
"What are you going to do?" Jordan said.
The Cubs will be represented by Sammy Sosa, sixth
among NL outfielders in the fan vote despite his 33 homers.
Hargrove also has five of his players with pitcher Bartolo Colon,
catcher Sandy
Alomar Jr. and shortstop Omar Vizquel
joining first baseman Jim Thome and
outfielder Kenny
Lofton, both elected as starters.
Vizquel, who has won five straight Gold Gloves, is one of 14 AL players
who'll play in their first All-Star Game.
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Quality sub: Arrojo is 10-4 with a 3.02 ERA and 92 Ks (AP) |
Four Atlanta
Braves were picked as reserves, giving them the most All-Stars with
six. Tom
Glavine and Greg Maddux were
selected for the pitching staff, Javy Lopez will
be a backup catcher and Andres
Galarraga will be a backup first baseman. Walt Weiss was
elected to start at shortstop and Chipper Jones
was voted the starter at third.
San Diego will have five players on the team, including pitchers Andy Ashby, Brown
and Trevor
Hoffman. Greg
Vaughn was selected as a backup outfielder and Tony Gwynn was
voted to start.
Leyland rounded out his pitching staff with Rick Reed of the
Mets, a replacement player three years ago, Philadelphia's Curt
Schilling, Cincinnati's Jeff Shaw and
Montreal's Ugueth Urbina.
"The road that I've taken to get where I am right now has been a long
bumpy road but they always say hard work pays off and it has paid off,"
said Reed, who broke in with Pittsburgh in 1988.
Pedro
Martinez and Tom Gordon of the
Red Sox were selected for the AL staff, which also includes former Boston
pitchers Roger
Clemens (now with Toronto) and Aaron Sele (now
with Texas). Other AL pitchers are Rolando Arrojo of Tampa Bay, Troy Percival
of Anaheim, Brad
Radke of Minnesota and John
Wetteland of Texas.
Arrojo and Oakland outfielder Ben Grieve were the only rookies selected
for the game. The hometown Rockies, who have outfielder Larry Walker in
the starting lineup, added a pair of reserves in third baseman Vinny
Castilla and outfielder Dante
Bichette.
Backup AL infielders include Ray Durham (White
Sox), Damion
Easley (Tigers), Dean Palmer
(Royals) and Mo
Vaughn (Red Sox). Anaheim's Darin Erstad
will be a reserve outfielder.
Pittsburgh's Jason Kendall
will be a backup catcher in the NL, and the reserve infielders include
Milwaukee's Fernando Vina.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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