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MLB All-Star Game: The all-time American League All-Star team

By Bobby Mueller

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 20, 1934: Babe Ruth lines a single to right field at League Park. The Yankees lost to the Indians 8-5. Ruth singled twice and struck out twice in a losing effort. (Photo by Louis Van Oeyen/Western Reserve Historical Society/Getty Images).
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 20, 1934: Babe Ruth lines a single to right field at League Park. The Yankees lost to the Indians 8-5. Ruth singled twice and struck out twice in a losing effort. (Photo by Louis Van Oeyen/Western Reserve Historical Society/Getty Images). /
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MLB All-Star Game
(FILE PHOTO: Date Unknown) MLB Baseball – Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams batting. (Photo by Sporting News/Sporting News via Getty Images) /

Starting Lineup

CF Ty Cobb, Tigers (1917–.383/.444/.570)
LF Ted Williams, Red Sox (1946–.342/.497/.667)
RF Babe Ruth, Yankees (1923–.393/.545/.764)
1B Lou Gehrig, Yankees (1927–.373/.474/.765)
DH Mickey Mantle, Yankees (1956–.353/.464/.705)
3B Alex Rodriguez, Yankees (2007–.314/.422/.645)
C Joe Mauer, Twins (2009–.365/.444/.587)
SS Lou Boudreau, Indians (1948–.355/.453/.543)
2B Ben Zobrist, Rays (2009–.297/.405/.543)
SP Walter Johnson, Senator/Twins (1913—346 IP, 1.14 ERA)

Catcher
Joe Mauer’s best season earned him the catching position on this all-time AL All-Star lineup. He led the league in hitting three times in four years from 2006 to 2009, but his peak was the 2009 season when he led the AL in all three rate-stat categories. He also hit 28 home runs and had 96 RBI, both career highs. As you might expect, this impressive production from a catcher earned him the AL MVP Award.

First base
The year Babe Ruth famously hit 60 home runs, his teammate and fellow slugger, Lou Gehrig, hit 47 big flies. Gehrig led the league in doubles, RBI, and total bases on his way to winning the AL MVP Award. In his career, Gehrig was right there with Stan Musial as one of the greatest first baseman to ever play the game.

Second base
There have been almost a dozen better seasons for an American League second baseman than Zobrist’s 2009 season, but the Rays needed an All-Star so Zobrist got the nod. This was Zobrist’s breakout season. He hit .297/.405/.543 and had 27 homers and 91 RBI. He also played seven different positions that year. He’s the Swiss Army Knife of this All-Star roster.

Shortstop
Lou Boudreau was the 30-year-old player/manager for the last Cleveland Indians team to win the World Series. In 1948, he hit .355/.453/.534 and had a career-high 18 homers, 116 runs scored and 106 RBI. He won the AL MVP Award. This season was the best season Boudreau ever had and one reason he ranked 15th on the list of the all-time greatest shortstops in baseball history.

Third Base
The 2007 season was one of Alex Rodriguez’ three MVP seasons, all within a span of five years. He led the league in runs, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and total bases. This season came near the end of A-Rod’s peak. He followed it up with a strong 2008, then settled in as a still above average player but not the superstar he had been for so long. Like Boudreau above, Alex Rodriguez is one of the greatest third basemen to ever play the game.

Left Field
In 1946, Ted Williams came back from World War II and won the first of his two MVP Awards. He hit .342/.497/.667 with a league-leading 142 runs and 156 walks. Williams had numerous seasons that could have landed him on this all-time All-Star roster, but his 1946 season rates the best statistically. Although, it also would have been fun to use the 1941 season in which he hit .406.

Center Field
Like Ted Williams, Ty Cobb had numerous seasons that could have landed him on this roster. Based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (WAR), it’s Cobb’s 1917 season that was the best. He led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, doubles, triples stolen bases, and total bases.

Right Field
Babe Ruth is most famous for his 1927 season because of the 60 home runs he hit that year. It remained the MLB single-season record until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. Despite all those long balls, Ruth’s 1927 season wasn’t his best. In 1923, he hit .393/.545/.764 with 151 runs scored, 41 home runs, and 130 RBI. Ruth had at least a half dozen seasons that qualified him for this team.

Designated Hitter
This might be fudging it a little bit, but the best non-starter for this all-time AL All-Star roster is Mickey Mantle. The DH wasn’t a position when he played, but he’s too good to leave out of the starting lineup. In 1956, Mantle won the first of his three AL MVP Awards when he hit .353/.464/.705. In addition to leading the league in batting average, he also led the league in runs, home runs, RBI, and total bases. This season put Mantle in the company of other Triple Crown winners like Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Rogers Hornsby.

Starting Pitcher—Walter Johnson, also known as “The Big Train,” was at his best in 1913. He went 36-7 and even saved two games. He pitched 346 innings and had a 1.14 ERA. His 6.3 K/9 may not look like much these days, but the MLB strikeout rate was just 3.9 K/9 back then. This year, it’s 8.5 K/9. Translated to today’s game, Johnson’s strikeout ability would be up there with the top starting pitchers in baseball, like Chris Sale, Max Scherzer, and Gerrit Cole.

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