Twins outfielder Torii Hunter is the team’s lone representative on a list of American League All-Star vote leaders.
Major League Baseball announced the updated list today and Hunter broke into the top-15 vote getters among American League outfielders.
Hunter has 386,847 votes and was 14th of the 15 outfielders listed – just ahead of Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez.
There are still plenty of Twins nonbelievers, though. Neither Brian Dozier nor Trevor Plouffe made the list among position players – even after Major League baseball named Plouffe one of five players deserving of All-Star recognition.
According to 1500 ESPN’s Derek Wetmore, to be a worthy All-Star in the eyes of the general public a player has to produce and have a proven track record (or name recognition).
“Hunter, in his age 39 season, is having a great year so far and has the cachet to back that up. He’s a household name around the league and his return to Minnesota has been well-publicized.
In addition to all the hyped leadership that Hunter provides, he’s been a great addition from the right side of the plate. Entering Monday, Hunter was hitting .279/.330/.459, which is a strong batting line, even for a corner outfielder.”
At 30-19 no one in the American League has a better record than the Twins, but they still are not getting a whole lot of respect from baseball fans. Is their track record of four straight 90-loss seasons hurting them? Maybe, but there could be more to it.
The Sporting News notes the Twins are 21-8 against teams under .500, while they are just 9-11 against teams over the .500 mark.
The Twins may soon have a chance to prove themselves, though. From June 8-21 they play Kansas City, Texas, St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs in what could be a telling stretch.
