Rolen, Renteria Are All-Star Worthy
Fans can vote for Cardinals online
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
May 1, 2003
ST. LOUIS -- If you are the Gold Glove winner, officially that means you are the best defensive player at your position. If you bring home a Silver Slugger, it is formal recognition that you are the best offensive player at your position.
If you win both, that would in theory mean you are the best player the league has to offer at your position.
With that, presenting the left side of the Cardinals infield, Scott Rolen and Edgar Renteria. And presenting the online All-Star ballot for 2003.
Online balloting on MLB.com and all 30 club sites is back. Beginning Thursday, May 1, fans can submit an online ballot by visiting MLB.com or any of the 30 club sites. Fans just need to register the first time they cast a ballot and then can vote up to 25 times total until the deadline at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 2. A record of more than three million ballots were cast online last season, eclipsing by far the previous mark of two million in 2001.
Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds make fine candidates in the outfield -- Pujols, after all was the runner-up for MVP honors in 2002, and Edmonds has been the league's best hitter this month to go along with a Gold Glove of his own last year. But if there are any obvious choices who wear the "birds on the bat," it's Renteria and Rolen.
2003 All-Star Game information
Making the choice easier is that both are getting it done in the field and at the plate once again this year. Both are doing what they need to do in order to make it to U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago on July 15.
Renteria has smoked the ball for a .337 average, 21 RBIs and 15 extra-base hits. And he seems to get better as the situation gets tougher. According to a current poll on StLCardinals.com, Cards fans would rather have Renteria at the plate in a key situation than any other hitter on the team -- including sluggers like Pujols and Edmonds.
"He likes driving in runs," manager Tony La Russa said of Renteria. "Some guys like scoring runs. I think he likes to score them too, but he really likes (RBI situations), and he's good at it because he can handle so many pitches. He gets a ball up, he can poke the ball away. ball inside, he can hit down the left field line. That's why he's got a well-deserved reputation for getting RBIs against good pitchers."
And if it gets the shortstop in the All-Star Game for the first time since 2000, he'll be delighted.
"Everybody wants to be in the All-Star Game," he said. "I did it twice already, and I had a lot of fun. I want to go every year."
Rolen's average is down to .253 after a recent slump, but as of Wednesday morning he had still racked up 14 extra-base hits, 20 RBIs and 24 walks (tied for most in the league). His OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) was the best among NL third basemen at 930. Oh, and there's not a better fielding third baseman in the game.
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