Debate continues over best-ever MLB All-Stars

Pujols or Gehrig? Jeter or Ripken? A-Rod or Schmidt?

There are baseball’s All-Stars, and then there are its superlative All-Stars, players not only the best of a generation but arguably the best who ever played their positions.

That rarified group could include three players coming to Angel Stadium for this year’s All-Star game on Tuesday: first baseman Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, shortstop Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees and third baseman Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees.

Because baseball is nothing if not a rich source of debate about the legacy of its players, let’s ponder this: Do these three deserve to be the starters on an all-time All-Star team?

Should Pujols play ahead of Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig or Jimmie Foxx at first base? Would you start Jeter instead of Honus Wagner or Cal Ripken Jr. at shortstop? Who plays third base, Rodriguez or Mike Schmidt — or Eddie Mathews or Brooks Robinson?

There are caveats with comparisons, of course. For example, today’s players have access to far superior equipment and training regimens for better conditioning. Conversely, yesterday’s players didn’t face the parade of hard-throwing relief pitchers common today.

And any discussion of Rodriguez must include his admission that he took steroids while playing for the Texas Rangers in 2001-03.

With all that in mind, let’s start at first base.

Gehrig was the “Iron Horse” of the Yankees for 17 seasons in the 1920s and ‘30s, playing in what was then a record 2,130 consecutive games.

With a career batting average of .340, Gehrig also hit .361 in seven World Series, twice was the American League’s most valuable player and won the league’s Triple Crown in 1934.

But Pujols, 30, now in his 10th season, is a three-time National League MVP — including the last two years — with a career batting average of .332. “The Machine” also has hit 30 or more home runs in all nine of his full seasons, and his fielding percentage at first base is .994.

“Before he’s done [Pujols] will be the greatest first baseman of all time,” said Tim Kurkjian, a veteran reporter and television analyst. “You can make a case that nobody has had a more productive first 10 years than Pujols, not even [ Joe] DiMaggio or [ Ted] Williams.”

Still, former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda stopped short of proclaiming Pujols the best ever. “Gil Hodges drove in over 100 runs for seven straight years,” Lasorda said of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ first baseman.

At shortstop, Jeter and Wagner might be top picks, but Lasorda said, “With the glove, I didn’t see anybody better than Ozzie Smith” of the Cardinals.

Wagner, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ star at the turn of the 20th century, had 3,420 career hits. Jeter, 36, has a .316 batting average in more than 2,200 games. The Yankees captain also has a .313 average in 28 postseason series and is closing in on 3,000 career hits.

Experts also say there’s much more to Jeter than his numbers, including his consistency, leadership and clutch plays over 16 seasons.

“I marvel at his baseball sense,” said Larry Bowa, the Dodgers’ third-base coach, a former Yankees coach and a shortstop in his playing days. “He’s always in the right place at the right time. You can’t teach that. His instincts are second to none.”

In the end, Kurkjian goes with Wagner: “I’m not sure Derek Jeter could ever top Honus Wagner, who was the first real superstar in major league history.”

The shortstop rankings might also include Rodriguez, because he played the position for more than a decade before moving to third base when he joined the Yankees.

In ranking Rodriguez at third base, he faces the Phillies’ Schmidt, who combined the offensive power of Mathews and George Brett with the Gold Glove skills of Robinson — all three of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Schmidt hit 548 home runs, was a three-time MVP and was named to 12 All-Star teams.

Bowa gave the edge to Schmidt, predicting his former Phillies teammate would have generated even better numbers if he played in today’s smaller ballparks. Plus, Schmidt was “a great baserunner, [had] great instincts, great hands, great arm,” Bowa said.

Kurkjian agreed that “Mike Schmidt is the best third baseman of all time, period.” And because Rodriguez, 34, switched to third base from shortstop, “he started too late” at that position “to beat out Mike Schmidt,” he said.

And there’s another Yankees player who likely would make the all-time list and join this conversation if he were playing in this year’s All-Star game: closer Mariano Rivera, who was named to the All-Star team but won’t play so he can rest an injury.

Trevor Hoffman of the Milwaukee Brewers holds the career saves record with 596. Rivera is second at 545. But Rivera has 39 saves in postseason play, which makes him the best reliever in history, said Dodgers Manager Joe Torre, who won four World Series managing Rivera and the Yankees.

“His numbers in postseason are ridiculous,” Torre said.

Finally, there’s Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, last year’s AL MVP and the All-Star game’s top vote-getter this year. With a batting average of .324 over his six-plus seasons, Mauer is increasingly being compared with Hall of Fame catchers Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra, each of whom played more than 16 seasons.

Whether Mauer, too, stands the test of time is an open question. This much is certain:

The debate over baseball’s best ever will last longer than any one player’s career.

james.peltz@latimes.com