The Royals played in Anaheim on Sunday night, the site of the 2010 All-Star Game. It was fitting that Joakim Soria notched a save that weekend because he'll be the Royals lone All-Star representative on July 13.
"I feel great," Royals closer Joakim Soria admitted. "It’s really important to me in my career, my family in Mexico and my team. I don’t think I’m one of the best. I just love the game, and I love being a baseball player. I enjoy it every time I pitch. This is the result of that."
Soria is 0-1 with 22 saves of 24 opportunities in the Royals 36 wins. He's the A.L. co-leader in saves and will make his second All-Star game appearance (2008). He was selected by A.L. maanger Joe Girardi since no Royal received enough fan votes.
If it came down to a manager vote, and not a popularity contest, then Soria was the right choice. He's converted 15 consecutive saves successfully and is generally considered in the top handful of closers in the game.
It's hard to argue that Soria didn't deserve but you can certainly argue that someone else deserves it as well. Here are the other candidates:
David DeJesus: Personally, this would have been my choice. He does everything very well and teams value that (as evidenced by his name popping up in trade deadline rumors all the time). He doesn't do anything excellent, which is probably what hurt himi.
Billy Butler: H had a shot but former MVPer Justin Morneau got it. Butler is batting .320 with 24 doubles and 42 RBIs.
Jose Guillen: He's the Royals leader in homers (14) and RBIs (52).
Zack Greinke: Hes always a perceived candidate since he won the Cy Young last year but he never had a shot.