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INGE AN ALL STAR? HE SHOULD BE Be honest, you didn’t think we’d be having this conversation anytime soon, maybe ever. Not after last season. However, in a couple of days, we could be – and should be - calling VCU-alum Brandon Inge an All-Star. Real-Deal-Holyfield. Don’t get me wrong here, Inge is a fine major league third baseman, but up until this season, the closest the Lynchburg, Va. native came to an All-Star Game was MTV’s Rock ‘N Jock Softball Jam. Through Thursday, July 2, Inge was hitting .275 with 18 home runs, ninth in the American League, and 52 RBI, 10th on the Junior Circuit. Inge leads AL third basemen in homers and is second in runs batted in. Oh, and did we mention he’s playing a Gold Glove-worthy third base?
Inge won’t win the fan vote. He might not even finish in the top five. Tampa Bay’s Evan “Don’t Call Me Eva” Longoria has that nearly hemmed up. In addition, sexier picks Alex Rodriguez and Mike Lowell, also read: New York and Boston, will probably garner more votes than Inge as well. Heck, Roger Dorn might have more votes than Inge right now. What’s that you ask? All-Star voting isn’t based on merit? Crazy, I know, but the average fan’s All-Star voting priorities look something like this (listed by order of importance): So, as you can see, Inge is up against some stiff competition in the fan vote. No worries. Players and managers select all but one of the remaining 25 spots on each team. By no means is Inge a lock. Texas’ Michael Young (.318, 10 HR, 30 RBI) or even Toronto’s Scott Rolen (.333 BA) could also get consideration, but this pick should go to Inge. Frankly, his numbers are better, and his story is better. Inge can also thank Alex Rodriguez for this position. A year ago, Rodriguez could basically punch his own ticket to the next 10 Midsummer Classics. However, Rodriguez’s steroid admissions have taken the squeaky-clean sheen off his popularity. It also doesn’t help that the Yankee third baseman began the year on the disabled list and is hitting a Charlie Hayes-esque .235 with 13 homers and 41 RBI. This type of talk would have seemed blasphemous last year, when Inge was the 10th wheel in the Detroit Tigers’ nine-man circus. Prior to the 2008 season, the Tigers traded for third baseman Miguel Cabrera, one of the top young hitters in baseball. It didn’t matter that Cabrera played third like his hands were on fire and had to eventually move to first, the Tigers needed the bat. It’s rumored that every time Jim Leyland writes Cabrera into the lineup at third base, Tom Emanski dies a little inside. As a result, Inge, Detroit’s regular third baseman the previous four years, became a $6 million utilityman. He backed up Ivan Rodriguez at catcher for 60 games, saw action in 51 at third and spent 28 others scattered between the three outfield spots. He also recorded his fewest plate appearances since 2003. Whether or not this positional musical chairs affected Inge in the batter’s box is unclear. What we do know is that he flirted with the Mendoza Line, hitting .205 with 11 homers and 51 RBI, his worst totals in six years. Meanwhile, the Tigers sank to a 74-88 season. Fast forward to 2009, and much has changed. Prior to the season, Detroit cut ties with aging and combustible designated hitter Gary Sheffield. In addition, Carlos Guillen, who has split time at both third and first base for the Tigers the last two seasons, has been sidelined much of the year with a shoulder injury. In the meantime, Inge has started 77 of the team’s 78 games at the hot corner, and is on pace to shatter career highs of 27 homers and 83 RBI, set in 2006. The Tigers have benefited from Inge’s improved play as well. Heading into the holiday weekend, Detroit was 43-35 and 2 ½ games ahead of the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central. Questions or comments? E-mail us at aroundthehorns@yahoo.com or look us up on Facebook. |
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If Inge is named to his first All-Star squad when the teams are revealed on Sunday, July 5, he’ll be the first former VCU player to earn that distinction. All rights reserved.
