It’s the One-Star Game for Them

Eric Karros ended up ninth in the All-Star vote count at first base. He didn’t even get as many votes as J.T. Snow.

Raul Mondesi finished 15th in the vote for National League outfielders. He didn’t even get as many votes as Brett Butler.

In watching Karros and Mondesi crush three home runs in Tuesday night’s 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers, I couldn’t help but think how pathetic it is that the Dodgers will be represented solely by Mike Piazza--unless somebody throws them a bone--in next Tuesday’s midsummer classic at Cleveland’s Jacobs Field.

Karros won’t make it, although he does have nine homers in his last 18 games.

“There are guys who are much more deserving than me,” Karros freely admits.

Mondesi won’t make it, although perhaps he should.

“He’s played injured, he plays hard, he hustles. . . . I hope he gets picked,” Dodger Manager Bill Russell says of Mondesi, who is hitting .286.

Their fate is up to Bobby Cox, the manager of the pennant-winning Atlanta Braves, who will personally pick the National League’s reserves.

I know that the Dodgers fancy themselves as having one of the top first basemen and right fielders in all of baseball. In spring training, Russell had every reason to expect Karros and Mondesi to put up All-Star numbers and to receive their fair share of the popular vote.

It hasn’t worked out that way.

There are only 14 teams in the National League, and yet Karros beat out only five of the first basemen: John Mabry of St. Louis, Mark Johnson of Pittsburgh, Jeff Conine of Florida, Rico Brogna of Philadelphia and Hal Morris of Cincinnati. In one of the largest markets in America, only 287,501 votes were cast for Karros.

“It’s arguably the toughest position in the National and the American League,” Karros correctly observes, a fact borne out by Andres Galarraga of the Colorado Rockies (with 84 runs batted in) and Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox (batting .377) failing to be the leading vote-getters at their position. (Jeff Bagwell and Tino Martinez each got more.)

Mondesi has a better case than Karros, having been more consistent from opening day.

The fact remains, however, that at .286, on the day the National League’s final vote was announced, Mondesi’s batting average was dwarfed by Larry Walker (.408), Tony Gwynn (.392) and Kenny Lofton (.344), who will make up the All-Star starting outfield. In that company, Mondesi’s numbers look puny, even with 17 home runs.

What’s maddening is that a team with as much (alleged) talent as the Dodgers should send a single player to an All-Star game. I suppose Cox could choose Todd Worrell, but the manager can only invite so many pitchers. Six different relievers have as many saves as Worrell has, or more.

So, it looks as though Piazza will be in Cleveland all by himself. Mike at the Jake.

I don’t care how many rookies of the year they have, the Dodgers don’t have any stars playing in fair territory, here in a city with stars all over our sidewalks.

Piazza reeled in 2,626,213 votes, more than anybody in the National League. He is so popular now, Piazza might still be the leading vote-getter if he were batting .165, rather than .365.

I don’t know about Mondesi. By now, I thought he would be one of the most respected and popular outfielders in the league. Yet here he is, barely out-drawing someone like Atlanta’s young Andruw Jones in the balloting.

And certainly at this point, Karros figured to be one of the National League’s most popular first basemen. He’s the clean-up hitter of a high-profile team in a high-profile town. But he received fewer votes this year than players like Montreal’s David Segui.

“Karros has really come on of late,” Russell says, “and Mondesi also [deserves consideration], because he’s been doing it more consistently, all season long. I’d like to see them both go, yes.”

Realistically, though, no way.

Karros is on a roll, raising his average to .269 with his two homers in Tuesday’s game. But he is more interested in having a hot second half of the season than in making an All-Star team.

“I’d rather be hitting .220--which I was doing earlier in the season, when I wasn’t productive--and be eight games over .500, than to be where we are now,” Karros says. “Unfortunately, individual success hasn’t carried over to the team.

“If you don’t win, nobody has had a good year.”

I know what he means. Even when your catcher gets 2.6 million votes, nobody wins when you lose.