A.L. All-Star Lineup Features Few All-Time Greats, But Is Still Dangerous

Considering that the franchise has the most players in the Hall-of-Famers, it is no surprise that numerous Giants have been involved in the All-Star game over the years. In 1965, Juan Marichal and Willie Mays stole the show in a game that featured fifteen other future Hall-of-Famers.

Tim Lincecum won't face a lineup of Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson, Al Kaline, Micky Mantle, and Carl Yastremski. Then again, the 2009 National League team doesn't feature Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose, Ernie Banks, Wille Stargell, and Billy Williams, either. And Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, and Don Drysdale aren't competing for Lincecum's starting spot.

Still, there are plenty of potential pitfalls in the 2009 A.L. Lineup. Many of the starters are great contact hitters, and two have averages over .350. And there is plenty of power in the middle of order.

Lincecum will likely only face the following starters (note Evan Longoria has withdrawn from the game and will be replaced by Chone Figgins. Michael Young will start for Longoria):

Ichiro Suzuki

2009 first-half stats: .362, 6 Home Runs, .393 On-Base Percentage

As usual, Ichiro's unique batting style has produced a very average, and his speed has allowed him to continue racking up extra-base hits and steals. He recently slumped to a 6-of-34 line in series against Baltimore and Boston, but hit .439 in June and .417 in May.

Ichiro rebounded in his last series before the Break, tallying eight hits (including two doubles) and two RBI against Texas. His averages against left and right-handed pitchers are nearly identical, although his slugging and OPS are a slightly higher against lefties.

Suzuki has never faced Lincecum, but hit a home run in the 2007 All-Star game.


Derek Jeter:

2009 first-half stats: .321, 10 HR, .396 OBP

Jeter is hitting .400 in July, and is on pace to hit roughly twenty home runs, his highest output in five years.

Jeter owns a career .474 batting average in the All-Star game, including two three-for-three efforts and a home run.

Derek has never played against Lincecum, but is batting only .276 against right-handers.


Joe Mauer

2009 first-half stats: .373, 15 HR, .447 OBP

Mauer is having an incredible year, setting a career-high in home runs half-way through the season. Although his monthly averages have dropped as the first-half progressed, Joe could be one of the toughest outs for Lincecum, who he has never faced.

Joe hits nearly fifty points higher against right-handed pitching (.391), but has only one hit in his last twelve at-bats overall.

Mauer is one-for-three in All-Star games.


Mark Teixeira

2009 first-half stats: .275, 21 HR, 63 RBI

Teixeira's contract was debatable, but he produced to the tone of twenty-one home runs at the Break. After a streaky first two months as a Yankee, Mark settled down. His July average matches his overall average. Although Mauer has definitly shown power this year, Teixeira is the first true "masher" in the A.L.'s lineup, appropriately batting clean-up.

Teixeira, who played in Atlanta, faced Lincecum in one game in 2007. He collect an RBI on a fielder's choice, then struck out. Mark bats only .257 against right-handed batters, although sixteen of his home runs have come off them.


Jason Bay

2009 first-half stats: .260, 20 HR, 72 RBI

After raising his average over .300 in April, Bay's average has consistently declined to within .010 of his career-low. However, his twenty home runs are on pace for a career-high, and his average with runners in scoring position is over seventy points higher. Bay hits .255 against right-handers.

Bay, a former Pirate, has three career plate appearances against Lincecum. Jason, who is susceptible to the strikeout, K'd twice while also reaching on a single.

Bay is also one-for-three with a strikeout in the All-Star game.


Josh Hamilton

2009 first-half stats: .243, 6 HR, 24 RBI

Hamilton was selected to the All-Star game despite an injury-filled and sub-par first-half.

He is batting .236 vs. righties, but showed last year that he can hit them, as evidenced by a .313 average and twenty-four homers.

Hamilton went one-for-three with a strikeout and a stolen base in last year's All-Star game, after hitting dozens of home runs in the Derby. He has never batted against Lincecum.

Michael Young (replacing Evan Longoria - see top)

2009 first-half stats: .308, 11 HR, .852 OPS

Young is near or at career-highs in OBP, OPS, and slugging. Although he averaging under .250 in his last seven games, his average against right-handers in over .300, also a career-high.

Michael is three-for-nine with a double, a triple and three RBI in previous All-Star appearances.

Despite recording twelve at-bats in the inter-league series this year against the Giants, Young has never been in the box against Lincecum.

Aaron Hill

2009 first-half stats: .292, 20 HR, 60 RBI

When Vernon Wells has been a disappointment in Toronto, Hill has been an extremely pleasant surprise, with carrer-highs in almost every category.

Aaron is more effective against lefties, but still hits a respectable .285 against right-handers.

Hill is the only A.L. starter to have drawn a walk against Lincecum, and struck in his only other at-bat against him in 2007. Aaron is hitting only .204 in July, and has gone hit-less in half of his games this month. Of his ten July hits, however, four have been for extra bases.

Roy Halladay

Halladay might be a great pitcher, but as a career American-Leaguer, his batting is awful.

Roy has never had an All-Star at-bat, and has never faced Lincecum. In a strange coincidence, two out of Halladay's three career hits came in a single game against former Giant Jason Schmidt.

Halladay struck out in his only at-bat this year.

The All-Star Game has not always been kind to Giants. In 1983, Atlee Hammaker gave up the only grand slam in Mid-Summer Classic history. And even if Lincecum pitches well, he will throw only two innings, limiting the potential for a decision. But if Albert Pujols and company can produce a run or two in the first or second inning, Tim could very well be the winning pitcher in a game that breaks the American League's twelve-game unbeaten streak.