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The Woelfel World of Sports
Brewers Braun, Fielder dissed
Posted by:
gwoelfel on
June 3, 2009 at
8:27PM CST
BY GERY WOELFEL Sports Illustrated recently conducted its annual poll of Major League Baseball executives and scouts about which players they would choose to start a franchise. To the surprise of no one, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was easily the winner. Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria was second in the voting, with Kansas City pitcher Zack Greinke finishing third. My personal choice -- after Pujols, of course-- was Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer. He finished fourth in the balloting. In all, 27 players received at least a vote, including Stephen Strasburg, who hasn't even played in the big leagues yet. Conspicuous by their absences were ... Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers. How neither one of these players failed to receive at least a vote is mind-boggling, almost as mind-boggling as three voters who didn't cast a vote for Pujols. Both Braun and Fielder are young, and both have already compiled some staggering numbers. In Braun's case, he entered Wedneday night's game against Florida with a sterling .309 career batting average. Braun can also hit for power. In his first season with the Brewers, he hit 34 homers. He followed that up with 37 homers last season. Don't overlook Braun's fielding ability, either. He has made several exceptional catches in left field this season, flashing signs of some day being a Gold Glove recipient. As for Fielder, nobody expects him to win a Gold Glove anytime soon, if ever. But Fielder should be force at the plate for years to come. In the last three seasons, Fielder hit 112 homers -- a whooping average of 37 a season. There are few, if any, more feared hitters as young as the 25-year-old Fielder. If Fielder or Braun feel slighted for not being recognized in the poll, they shouldn't be. After all, two years ago New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes won the SI poll. This year, Reyes didn't receive a single vote.
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