There's an old saying in Chicago: Vote early, vote often. Well, that certainly seemed to be the case for Cubs fans this season, as seven representatives of the Cubs were selected to play in the All-Star Game. You get the feeling there may have been some ballot-stuffing going on...Which of course is within every fan's right.
(Boston fans, by the way, voted in five of their own, which is no small feat in the American League, competing against Yankee fans.)
But how close did fans and players actually come to selecting the most-deserving all-stars based on Win Shares and OPS? Here are the starters selected for the All-Star Game, broken down by league, compared to leaders in Win Shares and OPS at their respective positions:
| American League |
| Position | Voted
All-Star | Win-Shares All-Star | OPS All-Star | Note |
| Catcher | Mauer | Mauer: 16 | Mauer: .875 | |
| First Base | Youkilis | Morneau: 17 | Youkilis: .941 | Youkilis #2
in WS |
| Second Base | Pedroia | Kinsler: 22 | Kinsler: .941 | Pedroia #2
in WS &
#3 in OPS |
| Shortstop | Jeter | M. Young &
O. Cabrera: 12 | Young: .772 | Jeter #3
in WS &
#3 in OPS |
| Third Base | A. Rodriguez | A-Rod &
Longoria: 13 | A-Rod: .992 | |
| Outfield | Hamilton | Hamilton: 17 | Hamilton: .911 | |
| | M. Ramirez | Sizemore: 15 | Sizemore: .911 | Manny #9
in WS &
#7 in OPS |
| | Ichiro | B.J. Upton: 15 | Drew: .964 | Ichiro #11
in WS &
#24 in OPS |
| DH | D. Ortiz | Bradley: 15 | Bradley: 1.037 | Ortiz did not qualify |
| National League |
| Position | Voted All-Star | Win-Shares All-Star | OPS All-Star | Note |
| Catcher | Soto | Soto &
Kendall: 13 | Soto: .907 | |
| First Base | Berkman | Berkman: 22 | Berkman: 1.107 | |
| Second Base | Utley | Utley: 18 | Uggla: .995 | Utley #2
in OPS |
| Shortstop | H. Ramirez | H-Ram: 19 | H-Ram: .937 | |
| Third Base | Chipper Jones | Chipper: 15 | Chipper: 1.091 | |
| Outfield | Braun | McLouth: 18 | Burrell: 1.001 | Braun #7
in WS &
#9 in OPS |
| | Fukudome | Bay: 18 | Holliday: .994 | Fukudome #9
in WS &
#16 in OPS |
| | A. Soriano | C. Beltran: 16 | Ludwick: .938 | Soriano did not qualify |
Source: Baseball Info Solutions (through games of Wednesday, July 9, 2008)
OPS Rankings Minimum: 3.1 plate appearance per team games
Position: Most played at this year