Shin-Soo Choo is the only Texas Ranger going to the All Star Game this year. This is his first ASG nod after 14 years in the bigs. He's 35 years old, and he's already having the best year of his career, with 17 home runs by July, six away from lapping his season record of 22, and he's already the most accomplished South Korean player in MLB history (with better numbers than any hitter, and more consistency than Chan Ho Park).
This is a guy who's always been one of those fringe players, one of those guys that's never a household name but is consistently fun to watch and just plays nice baseball. He's not a Hall of Famer; he falls into the Juan Pierre school of just being a great tool for a team to have. The Rangers, without him...might be a little more screwed, as I don't think Nomar Mazara can carry a team yet, and Beltre and Andrus have been on and off the DL. Choo has been one of the few consistent forces of positive energy on this Rangers team, and while there may be some outcry that someone like Cole Hamels didn't land on the roster, I think it's just nice that Choo gets to be an All Star after all these years.
[Heck, I'm even okay with Bartolo Colon not getting on there]
There are a lot of pieces of this Rangers team that are working really well, like Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jurickson Profar and Delino DeShields, but none of them are completely well-rounded, and none are completely dominating a specific field. A lot of the players the team's really weighing on, like Joey Gallo, can't hit for average. Even the pitching is a bit too weighty, if we're being honest.
But...for a fifth place team, they could be doing a lot worse, and without Choo, they probably would be.
Coming Tonight: An All Star catcher....one who should be starting.
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