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MLB Tickets - NL All-Star Selections: Catcher
Which player deserves to start at catcher for the National League All-Star team? There are a number of good prospects out there, a couple of front runners and a couple of long shots. Here are some of the most popular selections.
Bengie Molina, San Francisco Giants
Bengie Molina probably has the best stats of any catcher in the National League, although he might be getting overlooked because his team is relatively quiet. Fans who purchase and use MLB tickets for San Francisco Giants games know his value from a hitting standpoint. Molina is well above the curve, statistically. Currently he leads all catchers in hits (43) and RBI (30). Bengie has 8 home runs and a batting average of .274. While Pablo Sandoval has been taking over some of the catching work in select games lately, Bengie Molina leads all National League catchers in at-bats with 157 so far. Right now it appears as though the starting job for the All-Star Game is Bengie's to lose.
Ivan Rodriguez, Houston Astros
Pudge knows a little something about making the All-Star Game. In his 19 seasons in Major League baseball he's only missed the All-Star Game three times- his rookie season, 2002 when he was dealing with some lingering injuries and last season when he split time between the Tigers and the Yankees. History is on his side, but I-Rod's stats just aren't where they usually are at this time. He's batting .262, well below a terrific career average of .301. Between 1995 and 2003 Ivan Rodriguez went eight straight seasons batting over .300. Clearly he's getting to the twilight of a masterful career, but his popularity will have to help him out if he's goiing to make the All-Star Game. He just doesn't have the numbers to match Bengie Molina.
Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers
Another popular catcher these days, Russell Martin will certainly get his share of All-Star votes. LA has a very large fan base, and it won't go unnoticed if Russell starts to lead this team from a power hitting perspective in Manny Ramirez's absence. Right now he's doing well but not great. Russell made the last two All-Star Games as a catcher with slightly higher stats at this point. He's batting .270, slugging .326 and currently has zero home runs.
Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
McCann has three complete seasons in the majors under his belt, and three consecutive All-Star Game appearances, so he's going to be on the radar for a spot on the National League team. Currently McCann has some positive stats going for him. Of catchers with at least 20 starts, he's ranked No. 3 in batting average with .303. He leads the Braves with 5 home runs and 2 stolen bases. His slugging percentage is .528, which is quite good considering the competition he faces.
Ramon Hernandez of the Cincinnati Reds is a contender, as he's batting .291 with 39 hits. Yadier Molina of the powerful St. Louis Cardinals is enjoying a nice early season, as he has 38 hits and 17 RBI.
Get your votes in for the All-Star Game so that you can help your favorite players get in on this special honor. If you're thinking about attending the game, there's no better place to look for tickets than going online, because even if the game gets sold out tickets will still be available.
About the Author This article about MLB tickets was written by Brent Warnken in association with StubHub, a leader in the sports tickets, concert tickets, theatre tickets and special events tickets market.
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