Fireworks and Sparklers. Duds and Fizzs.

July 6th, 1933. Comiskey Park in Chicago, IL. The first MLB All-Star game takes place during the dark days of The Great Depression. Derived from an idea by Chicago’s newly elected Mayor Edward Kelly to coincide with The World’s Fair which was an event devised to celebrate the city’s centennial while offering optimism and hope during those trying times.

Kelly proposed his idea to Colonel Robert McCormick who was the publisher of the Chicago Tribune. McCormick thought this could help baseball get out of it’s doldrums of low attendance for the past few years. He handed the project over to Arch Ward his sports editor went to every team owner and league officials and offered The Game of the Century that would have the National League versus the American League. Ward also came up with fans voting for their favorite players to star in that game.

As the date for the game approached, Ward would write about the game, it’s players and tried to hype it up as much as possible. Ballots were printed in 55 newspapers nationwide and fans were encouraged to participate. Hundreds of thousands of ballots were sent in and Babe Ruth led the voting with 100,000 selections for him. Lou Gehrig, Joe Cronin, Jimmy Fox, Al Simmons were some of the big names of that time to participate.

On July 6, 47,595 fans packed into Comiskey Park, where some of baseball’s most historic moments had taken place. The game, which ended in a 4-2 victory by the American League, did not disappoint. For many of the players, this was their first chance to meet and compete with their counterparts from the other league and this “Mid-Season Classic” would continue on to this day with the exception of 1945 due to WWII.

In honor of the All-star game, Fourth of July, Canadian Independence Day and Nathans hot dog lover’s everywhere I will use a super secret formula to pick the Minoso and Gaedel’s All-star teams as well as each team’s mid-season MVP and Cy Young Pitcher. I will also select each team’s silly under achiever(s). These selections will be my opinions made under no influence of fermented beverages and I guarantee no animals were harmed during this process.

Gaedel Division or better known as WE STRONG AS OX

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Bayou City Drillers

MVP: DJ Lemahieu – 2nd in the BVL for hits. 8th (T) with a .330 average and nearly flawless in the field with only one error.

Cy Young: Steven Matz – 7-2 with a 3.45 era. 78 K in 76 innings.

Under Achiever: Mike Leake – 3-5 record and 81 hits in 74.2 innings.

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Beverly Bobcats

MVP: Carlos Gonzalez OF – .330 with 23 HR and the league leading 70 RBI gives Cargo a good start to earning league MVP.

CY Young: Jon Gray – The rookie is 12-1! with a 2.54 era.

Under Achiever: Adam Duvall – The power hitting LF is batting .179 with 9 HR while leading team in strikeouts at 63.

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Galway Bays

MVP: Cory Seager SS – .343 average 3rd in league. 17 HR with 47 RBI. OPS at 1.000.

CY Young: Tyler Chatwood – 8-5 record on a losing team. 91 K in 105 IP.

Under Achiever: Eugenio Suarez – .227 and 63 K in 244 ABs

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Jersey Jinx

MVP: Justin Turner – .338 average 5th (T) in league. .396 OB%. 20 HR and 53 RBI.

CY Young: Noah Syndergaard – 9-2 record. 112 K. Two complete games.

Under Achiever: Travis D’Arnaud. .211 average with 9 RBI in 42 games.

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Lake County Commuters

MVP: Daniel Murphy – .389 average leads the league. .422 OB%. 1.153 OPS. 55 XBH. Early MVP Fav.

Co CY Youngs: Jeremy Hellickson – 8-6 record. 3.62 ERA. Brad Hand – 1.79 era. 22 HA in 40 IP. 50 K.

Under Achiever: Derek Norris – .139 average in 52 games. 9 RBI.

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Manhattan Maulers

MVP: Yoenis Cespedes – .298 with 18 HR and the 61 RBI are third in league.

CY Young: Jacob DeGrom – 8-0 with 2.43 era. Only 15 walks in 81 innings.

Under Achiever: Ben Zobrist – .715 OPS with a .244 average and 4 HR.

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Tennessee Tuxedos

MVP: Brandon Belt – .306 Average with 25 doubles. .400 OB%.

CY Young: James Taillon – The Tuxedo rookie is 7-7 with a 3.70 RBI. 64 K in 82 IP.

Under Achiever: Matt Harvey – 0-7 with 7.17 eraand 113 HA in 75 IP. Back to the Batcave.

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Minoso Division also know as WE SECOND BEST

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Addison River Dogs

MVP: Andrew McCutchen – .253 average with 12 HR

CY Young: Russ Ohlendorf – 2.29 era and a 7-0 record in only 19 IP.

Under Achiever: Goldschmidt .212 avg, Harper .177 avg. Whole Offense .216 average.

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Bergen Bullies

MVP: Aledyms Diaz – .314 average with 12 HR and 42 RBI. .917 OPS.

CY Young: Colin Rea – 5-3 Record. 75 IP and a .196 OPP avg.

Under Achiever: Yadier Molina – .256 average. 1.0 WAR. 2 HR

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Grand Rapids Calvinists

MVP: Joey Votto – .319 average. 50 runs with a .419 OB% and 44 rbi make Angry Joey a league MVP candidate.

CY Young: Madison Bumgarner – 11-4 record with 2.93 era. 118 K in 117 IP. Two shutouts.

Under Achiever: Jody Mercer – .210 average with .234 OB% in 248 AB.

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Hollywood Stars

MVP: Matt Carpenter – .315 Average with 39 runs and 41 RBI. .403 OB%

Co CY Young: Zach Godley – 7-4 record with 3.82 Era. Max Scherzer 140K in 109 IP. .209 OPPBA.

Under Achiever: Matt Holliday – .219 avg. with 17 R and 6 HR in 51 games.

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Milwaukee Landsharks

MVP: Willson Contreras – .368 Average and 22 RBI in 144 AB

CY Young: Chad Bettis – 6-5 record with 67 K in 88 IP. One shutout.

Co-Under Achievers: Angel Pagan – .215 average w/ .287 OB% in 260 ab. Chris Behlmer – Should’ve cut the lawn and cleaned garage instead of doing Strat stuff all day.

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Orleans Barons

MVP: Charlie Blackmon – .333 average with 51 runs and 64 rbi (second in league)

CY Young: Robbie Ray – 6-3 record with 3.05 era. 98 K in 82 IP and only 6 HR allowed.

Under Achiever: Santiago Castilla – 9.42 era! in 28 IP. 20 walks and a .304 OPPBA.

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Westminster Hyacks

MVP: Freddie Freeman – .322 average with 48 runs and 1.010 OPS. 18 HR and 54 RBI. In League MVP Hunt.

CY Young: Tyler Anderson – The rookie is 6-3 with 74 K in 87 IP.

Under Achiever: Yasmani Grandal – .175 Average with .282 OB% and 6 errors.

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AND here are your BVL All-Stars

Gaedel Division

1B – Anthony Rizzo BEV
2B – Daniel Murphy LAK
3B – Justin Turner JER
SS – Johnathan Villar MAN
OF – Carlos Gonzalez BEV
OF – Tree Turner MAN
OF – Ryan Braun LAK
C – Wilson Ramos BEV

SP – Jon Gray BEV
P – Jacob DeGrom MAN
P – Tanner Roark MAN
P – Noah Syndegaard JER
P – Jake Arrieta JER
P – Carlos Martinez JER
P – Jeurys Familia BCD
P – Kenley Jansen MAN
P – Seung Hwan Oh LAK
P – Tyler Thornburg BEV

Reserves
2B – DJ Lamehieu BCD
1B – Brandon Belt TUX
2B – Brandon Phillips BEV
3B – Anthony Rendon BEV
OF – Jay Bruce LAK
OF – Yoenis Cespedes MAN
OF – Starling Marte MAN
C – Wellington Castillo MAN

Minoso Division

1B – Freddy Freeman WES
2B – Chris Owings MIL
3B – Nolan Arenado ORL
SS – Cory Seager GAL
OF – Charlie Blackmon ORL
OF – Andrew McCutchen ADD
OF – Odubel Herrera BGN
C – Francisco Cervelli GRC

SP – Madison Bumgarner GRC
P – Clayton Kershaw BGN
P – John Lackey ADD
P – Zach Godley HOL
P – Jeff Samardzija ORL
P – Bartolo Colon ORL
P – Mark Melancon ORL
P – Shawn Kelly ADD
P – Fernando Rodney BGN
P – Jeremy Jeffress WES

Reserves
1B – Joey Votto GRC
IF – Aldemys Diaz BGN
IF – Chris Carpenter HOL
3B – Kris Bryant GRC
OF – Nick Markakis WES
OF – Travis Jankowski MIL
OF – Christian Yelich GAL
C – Willson Contreras MIL

That’s it. Like it. Hate it. Meh it. I enjoyed doing it. Have a great and safe Fourth of July and continued Summer Fun.

Remember: Count digits. Light Fuse. Run. Count Digits.

Sources: Baseball reference, mlb.com, Historychannel.com, Restore league file 6-26-2017

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