Best position players in game not always among All-Stars

Web posted Jul. 06 at 10:36 PM

Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- Tom Candiotti, Danny Darwin and Tim Belcher have totaled more than 400 wins in the majors, combining to work in excess of 7,000 innings during 45 seasons in the big leagues.

All that, and still none has ever thrown a single pitch in an All-Star game.

``I think it'd be fun for everybody to have gone to an All-Star game at least once in their career. Unfortunately, it hasn't happened to me,'' said Candiotti, the Los Angeles knuckleballer.

``Overall, I am satisfied with my career. It sure would have been nice to have gone to an All-Star game. But sometimes they happen, sometimes they don't. In my case, it didn't.''

Candiotti is not alone in that category.

While Detroit pitcher Justin Thompson and Pittsburgh second baseman Tony Womack are among a half-dozen players going to Tuesday night's All-Star game at Jacobs Field in their first full seasons in the majors, many others have waited a decade and never gotten the call.

Hal Morris is a lifetime .300 hitter, Jim Eisenreich is near that mark and Tony Phillips has more than 1,800 hits in 16 seasons. Yet not a single All-Star at-bat for any of them.

``There are a lot of good first basemen out there,'' said Morris, who plays the position - without much power - for Cincinnati.

Mark Lemke and Greg Gagne have plenty of World Series experience, but have missed out on baseball's summer showcase. Same goes for Otis Nixon, even with more than 500 steals in 15 seasons.

Tim Salmon, with more than 130 home runs in less than six years, has been blanked. So have Walt Weiss and Mike Macfarlane, both in their 11th seasons.

For some All-Star absentees, they've simply been blocked.

Gagne, with Los Angeles for his 15th and final season, spent most of his time in the AL, where Cal Ripken always started at shortstop. Ripken moved to third base this year, and Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra made the squad as a rookie.

Lemke, in his 10th season as Atlanta's second baseman, has lost out at a position that Ryne Sandberg and Craig Biggio have ruled for nearly a decade.

Of course, there's always hope. Philadelphia ace Curt Schilling and Seattle second baseman Joey Cora both were picked for the first time this year, their 10th in the majors.

And remember - the likes of Scott Cooper, Tim Laudner, Kurt Stillwell, Vance Law and Jack Armstrong have been All-Stars in the last 10 years.

On the other hand, big-name players such as Brett Butler, Juan Gonzalez, Jay Buhner, Jay Bell and Terry Pendleton have made it only once.

While hitters often make the All-Star team on reputation, pitchers are usually picked based on first-half production.

That's why San Francisco's Shawn Estes (12-2), Anaheim's Jason Dickson (8-4) and Kansas City's Jose Rosado (7-4) will be playing in their first full seasons in the majors.

For Candiotti, Belcher and Darwin, All-Star time once again means a break instead of a game.

``It's almost nice having the three days off,'' said Candiotti, with 130 wins in 14 seasons. ``I think when you don't make it, you really put more of an importance on the fact that you really need the days off. But if you do make it, you say, `Yeah, I really want to go.'''

``Back in 1990, I think I was 9-3. But in Cleveland, the only people they were going to pick were Doug Jones, Greg Swindell and me. I think Swindell was 10-2, I was 9-3 and Jones had about a hundred saves. It's kind of hard to take three pitchers, so it was more of a numbers game.''

Belcher is closing in on 120 victories in 11 seasons. Problem is, the wins haven't come in the right place.

``I've never had a dominant first half,'' the Kansas City pitcher said. ``It seems like a win here or there might've done it, I just didn't get it.''

Darwin has pitched 20 seasons and not been selected, despite 161 victories. Others have gone longer without an All-Star appearance - catcher Rick Dempsey played 24 years and never made it, though he earned an even more coveted honor, the MVP of the 1983 World Series for Baltimore.

``The All-Star game is not important to me,'' Darwin said. ``Sure you'd like to make it.

``My ultimate goal is to win a World Series,'' the 41-year-old White Sox pitcher said. ``All those awards are great, but if you win a World Series and you get a chance to wear that ring around, that's what I'm shooting for.''