In fact, Pujols currently leads the NL with 32 HRs and 89 RBIs while hitting .316 which is .007 behind the leader (Joey Votto). It is time to start to think about the Triple Crown. Can Pujols pull off the Triple Crown this season? His name seems to be brought up with Triple Crown possibilities every year, but he has only won the batting title once (2003) and the home-run title once (2009). This year his main competition seems to be Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds. Votto leads the NL in batting (.323), he is 3rd in HR (29) and second in RBI (86).

Despite the great numbers that Pujols is putting up this season, he hasn’t received the same media attention as in the past. I have come up with a few reasons why this could be:

• It is expected of him. Let’s face it, when you think Albert Pujols, you think great hitter. It is no surprise that he is among the league leaders in several major hitting categories at this time of the year. If he had 20 HRs, 60 RBI and .270 AVG, he would certainly be in the media more often because it would be surprising.
• The Reds are stealing the show. Not only is Votto, Pujols’ main competition, but the Reds currently have a 3 game lead on the Cards in the NL Central. The Reds success is more of a story than Pujols because it is somewhat surprising. They have a very young and talented team and it will be interesting if they can hold on down the stretch.
• Josh Hamilton‘s resurgence in the American League is a better individual story. Hamilton was great two seasons ago (his first year with Texas), but last season injuries really held him back. Now he leads the majors in batting average (.357) and he is among the top 5 in the AL in RBI (88) and HR (28). He is my pick for the MVP.

What do you think? Is Pujols under the radar? Will this be the year we have a Triple Crown winner?

Photo Credit: AP/Bob Levey via SportsBettingChamp.org

The complete rosters for both teams can be found here.

The biggest thing that pops out to me when I look at the rosters is the fact that Josh Hamilton was voted in as a starter for the American League. He has been DL’ed for most of the first half of the season, and the games he did play… he doesn’t have all-star numbers, actually not even close to it. His line is 35 games, 125 at bats, .240 average, 6 homers, 24 RBIs, .290 OBP. Carl Crawford should be a starter for the AL all-star team- no question in my mind.

Even Pedroia, last year’s MVP, should not be a starter or even on the team for that matter. Aaron Hill (made the team as a reserve) and Ian Kinsler (nominee for final vote in player) both play 2B and both have better numbers than Pedroia this season.

Now, for the national league Beltran and Ibanez are both starters, but on the DL. I actually don’t have a problem with these picks because the voting takes place for most of the first half and each of those players played 62 games (a majority of the first half) and they both have all-star numbers. Obviously, they will be replaced and that will give two more players a shot at starting.

The All-star game comes down to a popularity contest, and I am fine with that- if the game was like the Pro-Bowl in the NFL, or the All-Star game in the NBA. But it’s not- the game means something and should be voted on differently. Yes, the fans absolutely need to matter and they need vote. I have a two ways of dealing with this:

First: It could be a split vote, maybe managers, fans, and the writers all have a third vote (as David Cone mentioned in the Yankees broadcast on 7/5).

or, my preferred solution,

Second: The fans vote as normal, and when all the votes are in, you have it like a top-3 for infielders and a top-5 for outfielders and then the manager picks the most deserving from the fan’s list. So if A,B,C,D,E finished in that order for the OF voting, and manager thinks that A,B,D,E are all-stars then A,B,D start and E is the reserve. This way smaller markets have a better shot to combat the popularity contest effect that large markets create. The fans say still matters, and the teams are even better. It works the same way as the Final Vote for the final roster spot- the mangers pick 5 and the fans vote for 1, in my system the fans pick the pool and the managers make the final selection.

Speaking of the Final Selection, the nominees are:
AL
Chone Figgins- LAA 3B
Brandon Inge- Det C
Ian Kinsler- Tex 2B
Adam Lind- Tor OF
Carlos Pena- TB 1B

NL
Christian Guzman- WAS SS
Matt Kemp- LAD OF
Mark Reynolds- Ari 3B
Pablo Sandoval- SF 3B
Shane Victorino- Phi OF

For the AL honestly you can’t go wrong with any of them, but my vote goes to Kinsler

For the NL my vote goes to Kemp

That does it for this post, be sure to check out the MikesPickz: Sports Section again