Third Base Has Cornered Mediocrity

The Seattle Mariners may have five starting players in the July 10 All-Star game in their hometown and the obvious reaction to that is: Why not all nine considering that the Mariners have been in a league of their own?

Does anyone really need a reminder that this is an All-Star game in name only and not a true reflection of first-half performance, a popularity contest that stirs varying passion in each of baseball’s precincts--and all along the Internet?

In Anaheim, for instance, it is widely known that fans seldom display passion unless it’s in support of the visiting team or a special event such as Friday night’s game-long birthday celebration for the Rally Monkey, which may have been an embarrassing low for a franchise that has made it a habit.

“A member of the family,” one public-relations person said of the monkey, which begged for someone to say, “Isn’t that the truth?”

The hairiest member of the Angel family was saluted by fans while driven around the warning track before the game and serenaded with “Happy Birthday” as it sat on a stool behind home plate during the seventh-inning stretch.

If Anaheim voters had gotten behind Troy Glaus with the same fervor, there wouldn’t be this silly debate as to who should be the American League’s All-Star game starter at third base.

The winner will be announced Monday.

As polls closed, Seattle’s David Bell, with his .251 average, seven homers and 31 runs batted in, was leading Glaus, with his .254 average, 20 homers and 50 RBI, while the retiring Cal Ripken Jr., batting .217 with four homers and 25 RBI, was third.

Glaus’ power obviously makes him stand out, but he has been in a June swoon, batting .180, and, as Seattle Manager Lou Piniella said, “It’s not exactly like any third baseman is having a wow year.”

In fact, some are having just the opposite.

Travis Fryman of the Cleveland Indians has appeared in only 25 games because of an injury, and the Toronto Blue Jays even allowed Tony Batista--who last season slugged 41 homers, drove in 114 runs and was a member of the all-star team--to be claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

Batista had 13 homers and 45 RBIs and immediately became the Oriole leader in those categories, but he was batting only .207 and Toronto General Manager Gord Ash said, “We finished off the final weeks of 2000 thinking fatigue had set in with Tony and we don’t see him in the short term turning his [average] around.”

They also didn’t want to pay him the almost $12 million he is owed in the long-term.

Piniella said Bell has nothing to be defensive about because defensively he is as good as there is, has raised his average after a slow start, is playing on a hot team that draws capacity crowds, and, well, “the fans vote and he has the most votes so far.”

All-star controversy, such as it is, plagues the Bell family.

Gus Bell, David’s grandfather, was a four-time all-star who was elected three times by the fans. The third time was 1957, when seven Cincinnati Reds were elected by their partisans and then commissioner Ford Frick dropped Bell and Wally Post for Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. He also scrubbed fan voting, which was not reinstated until 1970.

Buddy Bell, the Colorado Rocky manager who is the son of Gus and father of David, said his father was long bitter over Frick’s decision and “always wondered why he was singled out. I’ve told David that if he’s elected, he should be honored.”

The younger Bell said he would be. He also reiterated that if Ripken called and asked to start he would let him.

Ripken is unlikely to do that, which means, providing their leads hold up, Bell will join teammates John Olerud, Bret Boone, Ichiro Suzuki and Edgar Martinez in the starting lineup.

Mariner closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, reliever Jeff Nelson and starters Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer and Aaron Sele (scheduled to start on the Sunday before the Tuesday game) also may be selected by New York Yankee Manager and AL pilot Joe Torre.

Piniella will be there as a coach but yearns for another role. The manager of the league champion is assigned to manage the next year’s all-star team and Piniella said, “Joe has handled it for [three] years in a row. It’s about time somebody else gets a chance.”