For the second year in a row there will be 12 Dominicans playing in the Major League Baseball All Star Game. The attention-grabbing game will take place next weekend in Detroit, Michigan. Similar to what has happened in every corner of the Major Leagues, the All Star Game will have a lot of Dominican flavor.
David Ortiz, “Big Papi” of the Boston Red Sox, was the player to receive the most votes in the nearly worldwide voting by baseball fans. Ortiz is joined by Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramiriz, Miguel Tejada and Vladimir Guerrero on the starting roster of the American League. They will be backed up by Bartolo Colon and Alfonso Soriano. Last year, Alfonso Soriano was the player to receive the most votes and he became the MVP of the game itself. Perhaps Ortiz will carry on that tradition.
Over in the National League, Derrek Lee of the Chicago Cubs displaced Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals at third base, marking the first time in many years that no Dominican made the starting lineup for the elder league. Pujols is considered to be a lock as the DH for the National League team since they will be playing in Detroit, an American League team, where the American League rules are in force. Pujols and Martinez are joined by Luis Castillo, Moises Alou and Aramis Ramirez. For Vladimir Guerrero, this is his sixth appearance in the game.
For Moises Alou, chosen by manager Tony LaRussa, this will also be his sixth All Star Game. He has the distinction of having represented five different teams in the game: the Giants, the Expos, the Cubs, the Marlins and the Astros. For perennial All Star Pedro Martinez, this will be his seventh game.