4 Phillies Named To NL All-Star Team; Victorino Vying To Become 5th
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- At least four Phillies will help make up the National League roster at the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix on July 12. Shane Victorino is bidding for the fifth spot.
Placido Polanco, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels were all named All-Stars when the majority of the rosters were announced on Sunday.
Polanco was chosen by the fans as the starting third baseman, an honor he barely missed earning last year after he was overtaken by the Mets' David Wright in the final week of voting.
Not this season.
Polanco received nearly four-and-a-half million votes, over one-and-a-half million more than Chipper Jones who finished second at his position in the balloting.
Polanco is hitting .277 this season with four home runs and 39 RBIs. It is his second time as an All-Star. He was elected the American League starter at second base in 2009 while playing for the Detroit Tigers.
Halladay, Lee and Hamels were all selected to be part of the NL's pitching staff -- marking the first time in the history of the All-Star Game that three Phillies pitchers were named to the team in the same season – and certainly well deserved.
Halladay is 11-3 with a 2.44 ERA, 131 strike outs and a league-best six complete games. It is his eighth All-Star Game, his second in as many years with the Phillies. Halladay was the starting pitcher for the AL during his final season with the Blue Jays in 2009.
Lee heads to the Midsummer Classic for the third time in his career. Despite a setback in his last start in Toronto, he is 9-6 with a 2.92 ERA. During the month of June, Lee went 5-0 while posting a 0.21 ERA and throwing three consecutive complete game shutouts.
Hamels has been perhaps the Phillies best pitcher this season. He is 9-4 in 17 starts and his 2.41 ERA is good for tops among the starters. The former World Series MVP was also an All-Star in 2007.
Victorino hopes to join his teammates on the All-Star roster. The Phillies' center fielder is part of this year's Final Vote on MLB.com, something he is very familiar with. Victorino won the Final Vote two years ago.
Just past the midway point, Victorino is closing in on another quadruple-double season. He has nine home runs and nine triples to go along with his 14 doubles and 13 stolen bases -- all while boosting his average to .303 with 34 RBIs and 54 runs scored.
Ryan Howard, despite being ranked second in the league in RBIs (67), did not earn an All-Star nod this season.
Chase Utley, who missed the first 47 games of the season with a knee injury, had his run of five straight years as the elected NL starting second baseman come to an end.
The winner between the National and American Leagues – once again – will claim home-field advantage in the World Series. The Phillies -- a heavy favorite to make it to this year's Fall Classic – will no doubt have a serious interest in the outcome.
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Reported by Dan Majka, CBS Philly.
