Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
There is no doubt that Justin Turner should have been the National League All Star starter this year if the votes were simply based on merit. But I understand why no Dodgers were chosen. Besides Turner, no Dodger position players are truly having remarkable years. But how can that be? How can the best team in the MLB have no starters in the All Star Game? Well it actually proves just how good the Dodgers team is.
Numbers, numbers, numbers…
Baseball is a game of numbers. Perhaps the most influential number when it comes to evaluating a position player is arguably batting average. Home runs might come second, then on base percentage. Those are my favorite numbers to look at when evaluating a player.
The Dodgers as a team do not rank anywhere near the top when it comes to average. They are currently ranked 12th in the league in terms of average which puts them at about the 50th percentile. The Dodgers rank 8th as a team with 107 home runs, 1st with 351 walks, 4th with 418 runs. Those are really good numbers. They aren’t getting too many hits but they are being very efficient with their at-bats.
Muncy and Turner are Dodgers’ best this season
So it makes sense that there are no Dodger starters. Their numbers don’t really jump out on paper. Muncy is doing great in terms of getting on base so he also a valid argument in being included but Freddie Freeman has 80 more at-bats with really similar numbers. Muncy and Turner could have very well been starters this year and I don’t think a lot of people would have been able to argue that they didn’t deserve it.
Dodgers don’t need superstars, they have efficiency
The Dodgers are a great team not because they have a few superstars, like the Angels. The Dodgers are a great team because everyone does their part. Everyone contributes in their own way. Yes, this year they don’t seem to have that MVP caliber player but that is not stopping them from being one of the best teams in baseball.
