Gordon, Perez To Represent Royals In 2103 MLB All-Star Game

For the first time in 10 years, the Kansas City Royals will have two representatives in the Major League Baseball 2013 All-Star Game in Queens, New York City in Citi Field on July 16th. Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez were both selected for the Mid-Summer Classic for the first time. The last time Kansas City had two players selected was in 2003, when Mike Sweeney and Mike MacDougalboth represented the Royals.

Jun 26, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon (4) connects for a home run in the first inning of the game against the Atlanta Braves at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

In a twist of irony, the Royals representatives are are both offensive players from a team that has been carried by its pitching. Both Gordon and Perez are All-Star worthy though, as both have mixed strong offense with terrific defensive play.

Gordon, has produced a strong slash line of .292/.351/.426/.776 through July 5th. He has 8 home runs, 45 runs scored, and 46 RBI. He has won a Gold Glove in each of the last two seasons. Perez, only 23 years old, has a slash of .306/.331/.426/.757. He has wracked up 4 home runs, 24 runs scored, and 36 RBI, while handling the pitching staff like a seasoned veteran, and playing terrific defense.

Left off the team were other very deserving Royals – Greg Holland and Ervin Santana.

The elected American League starters are Joe Mauer (C, Minnesota), Chris Davis (1B, Baltimore), Robinson Cano (2B, New York), J.J. Hardy (SS, Baltimore), Miguel Cabrera (3B, Detroit), Adam Jones (OF, Baltimore), Mike Trout (OF, Los Angeles of Anaheim), Jose Bautista (OF, Toronto), and David Ortiz (DH, Boston).

The reserves are Prince Fielder (1b, Detroit), Torii Hunter (OF, Detroit), Jhonny Peralta (SS, Detroit), Dustin Pedroia (2b, Boston), Nelson Cruz (OF, Texas), Ben Zobrist (2B, SS, OF, Tampa Bay), Juan Castro (C, Houston), Edwin Encarnacion (1b, Toronto), Jason Kipnis (2B, Cleveland), Manny Machado(3B, Baltimore), Gordon, and Perez.

Jun 16, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The American pitchers are Max Scherzer (Detroit), Felix Hernandez (Seattle), Clay Buchholz (Boston), Yu Darvish (Texas), Hisashi Iwakuma (Seattle), Mariano Rivera (New York), Jesse Crain (Chicago), Joe Nathan (Texas), Bartolo Colon (Oakland), Glen Perkins (Minnesota), Justin Verlander (Detroit), Justin Masterson (Cleveland), Brett Cecil (Toronto), and Chris Sale (Chicago).

For the National League, the starters will be Yadier Molina (C, St. Louis), Joey Votto (1B, Cincinnati), Brandon Phillips (2B, Cincinnati), Troy Tulowitzki (SS, Colorado), David Wright (3B, New York), Carlos Beltran (OF, St Louis), Carlos Gonzalez (OF, Colorado), and Bryce Harper (OF, Washington).

The reserves are Andrew McCutchen (OF, Pittsburgh), Michael Cuddyer (OF, 1B, Colorado), Buster Posey (C, San Francisco), Pedro Alvarez (3B, Pittsburgh), Domonic Brown (OF, Philadelphia), Everth Cabrera (SS, San Diego), Matt Carpenter (2B, St. Louis), Allen Craig (1B, St. Louis), Paul Goldschmidt (1B, Arizona), Carlos Gomez (OF, Milwaukee), Jean Segura (SS, Milwaukee), and Marco Scutaro (SS, San Fransisco).

The National League pitchers will be Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles), Patrick Corbin (Arizona), Matt Harvey (New York), Adam Wainwright (St. Louis), Jason Grilli (Pittsburgh), Jordan Zimmerman (Washington), Craig Kimbrel (Atlanta), Aroldis Chapman (Cincinnati), Travis Wood (Chicago), Jose Fernandez (Miami), Cliff Lee (Philadelphia), Jeff Locke (Pittsburgh), and Madison Bumgarner (San Fransisco).

Fans can vote for the final two spots. The American League candidates are Joaquin Benoit (Detroit), Steve Delabar (Toronto), David Robertson (New York), Tanner Scheppers (Texas), and Koji Uehara (Boston). All of these players are pitchers.

The National League choices are Ian Desmond (SS, Washington), Freddie Freeman (1B, Atlanta), Adrian Gonzalez (1B, Los Angeles), Hunter Pence (OF, San Fransisco), and Yasiel Puig (OF, Los Angeles).

On the American League team. with every team rightfully represented, no one player stands out as not being deserving as far as the selected players go, but it a shame that Greg Holland did not make the list for the players fans can choose from. He is having a fantastic year and should have been on this list. Two American League pitchers are on the DL – Jesse Crain and Clay Buchholz – so there is a chance Holland, or maybe even Ervin Santana, could get the nod in one of those spots if they don;t return i time to play.

Royals’ fans should not feel slighted though. Having two deserving representatives Like Gordon and Perez is a major step forward. The fact that a case could have been made for a couple other Royals is a sign that maybe things are turning around for this organization. We can look forward to seeing two Royals next week in the All-Star Game.