The 2012 MLB All-Star Game is being held at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City this year, and the theme seems to be about emerging players. An incredible 10 players are making their first All-Star appearance from the American League alone and there's another 16 on the NL side. That makes 26 total players who've never been to the mid-summer classic as an official roster member.
That makes Derek Jeter's 13th career appearance all the more impressive this year. He has the most career appearances by far of any of his American League teammates, with only David Ortiz eclipsing half of his total with 8. In short, he's truly a man among boys out there on Tuesday night.
As for the rest of the starters, several are starting to add to their career totals and it's easy to see names like Prince Fielder and Robinson Cano eventually getting to double digits like Jeter. For now, they all defer to the Yankees great.
American League Starters (No. of AS appearances)
C Mike Napoli Texas 1
1B Prince Fielder Detroit 4
2B Robinson Cano N.Y. Yankees 3
3B Adrian Beltre Texas 3
SS Derek Jeter N.Y. Yankees 13
OF Josh Hamilton Texas 5
OF Curtis Granderson N.Y. Yankees 3
OF Jose Bautista Toronto 3
DH David Ortiz Boston 8
Read more about the 2012 All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium at SB Nation Kansas City. Head over to Baseball Nation for news and analysis around Major League Baseball. Also, be sure to subscribe to our Youtube Channel for video commentary