AL All-Star Roster Tilts to the West

The players got the vote and struck a blow for equality. In the American League, at least, the balance of power long ago swung to the West. For the first time, the All-Star game roster reflects that reality, rather than East Coast hype.

The AL West has produced the wild-card team in each of the last three seasons. The division delivered three 90-game winners last year, two 100-game winners two years ago and two 90-game winners three years ago.

But with the popularity of the New York Yankees and the tendency of Yankee Manager Joe Torre to pack the roster with his players, the All-Star game nearly became a Festival O’ Pinstripes.

By approving the two-year experiment to award home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the All-Star game, the players won the right to determine most of the pitchers and backup position players in the game. So when the rosters for the July 15 All-Star game at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago were announced Sunday, nearly half the AL players hailed from the West.

The Seattle Mariners got a league-leading five players on the team; the Oakland Athletics four. The defending World Series champion Angels got three, same as the under-publicized Toronto Blue Jays and over-publicized Yankees. The Yankees got six last year, with a huge assist from Torre.

“When you have the players picking, they don’t pick favorites,” said Garret Anderson, the Angels’ All-Star outfielder. “They pick the guys that are doing the best on the field. You get a true feel when the players pick. They’re not as biased. They give a guy credit for what a guy does on the field.”

Anderson joined reliever Brendan Donnelly and third baseman Troy Glaus as the Angels’ representatives. Glaus, the World Series most valuable player, became the first Angel voted into the starting lineup by fans since Wally Joyner in 1986.

The Dodgers will be represented by pitcher Kevin Brown, catcher Paul Lo Duca and closer Eric Gagne.

The AL West, with four of the 14 teams in the league, accounted for 14 of the 31 players selected -- 15 of 31 counting outfielder Carl Everett, traded from the Texas Rangers to the Chicago White Sox after voting ended.

If the most heartwarming story at the All-Star game will be brothers on opposing sides -- Seattle second baseman Bret Boone and Cincinnati Red third baseman Aaron Boone -- then the most inspirational story will be that of Donnelly.

He endured a decade in the minor leagues, including two summers in the independent leagues, chasing his dream while paying the bills by tending bar, killing bugs and serving subpoenas.

He arrived in the majors last season and gave up one hit in 7 2/3 innings in the World Series. This season, as setup man to four-time All-Star Troy Percival, Donnelly has given up two earned runs, for an 0.41 earned-run average.

“I would never have thought I’d be a major league All-Star,” said Donnelly, who turned 32 on Friday. “For a long time, I didn’t think I would be a major league player. It means everything to me.”

The players, asked to pick three relievers, gave Donnelly more votes than anyone except Minnesota Twin closer Eddie Guardado.

Donnelly served as a replacement player in the 1994-95 strike, and the players’ union refuses to admit him into membership or share licensing revenue with him. Still, on this ballot, the players voted for him overwhelmingly.

“Performance dictates, and he was rewarded for his performance, no matter what his past is,” said pitcher Scott Schoeneweis, the Angels’ union representative.

“I’m happy for him. He deserves to go.”

Brown, 36, leads the National League with a 2.30 ERA. He was selected for his sixth All-Star team but his first since 2000. After six stints on the disabled list over the previous three years, he hopes his abdominal strain will not jeopardize his All-Star appearance this year.

“It can never be old hat, especially the way things have gone the last couple of years,” he said. “It’s an honor and a blessing. I’m blessed to be able to make it back from those injuries.”

Brown earned a $100,000 All-Star bonus, with Anderson, Donnelly and Lo Duca each earning a $25,000 bonus. Gagne’s contract does not have an All-Star bonus provision

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Times staff writer Jason Reid contributed to this report.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

All-Star Rosters

Selections for 74th All-Star game, to be held July 15 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago (Time: 5 p.m. PDT.; TV: Ch. 11). The starters were selected in voting by fans, the reserves and pitchers were selected in voting by managers and players, except as indicated by an * -- those selections made by All-Star managers Mike Scioscia and Dusty Baker, in conjunction with Major League Baseball. A 32nd player for each team will be selected in Internet voting.

AMERICAN LEAGUE STARTERS

*--* Pos Player Team ASG HR RBI Avg C Jorge Posada N.Y. Yankees 4th 17 50 254 1B Carlos Delgado Toronto 2nd 28 92 304 2B Alfonso Soriano N.Y. Yankees 2nd 22 51 300 3B Troy Glaus Angels 3rd 15 46 260 SS Alex Rodriguez Texas 7th 21 54 293 OF Manny Ramirez Boston 7th 20 66 325 OF Hideki Matsui N.Y. Yankees 1st 9 64 311 OF Ichiro Suzuki Seattle 3rd 7 27 349 DH Edgar Martinez Seattle 7th 18 60 305

*--*

NATIONAL LEAGUE STARTERS

*--* Pos Player Team ASG HR RBI Avg C Javy Lopez Atlanta 3rd 23 51 307 1B Todd Helton Colorado 4th 15 69 338 2B Marcus Giles Atlanta 1st 8 36 282 3B Scott Rolen St. Louis 2nd 16 57 285 SS Edgar Renteria St. Louis 3rd 8 59 328 OF Barry Bonds San Francisco 12th 25 52 304 OF Albert Pujols St. Louis 2nd 26 80 374 OF Gary Sheffield Atlanta 7th 22 68 327

*--*

AMERICAN LEAGUE RESERVES, PITCHERS

*--* Pos Player Team C Ramon Hernandez Oakland 1B Mike Sweeney Kansas City 2B Bret Boone Seattle 3B Hank Blalock Texas SS Nomar Garciaparra Boston OF Garret Anderson Angels OF Vernon Wells Toronto OF Melvin Mora Baltimore OF *Dmitri Young Detroit DH Carl Everett Chi. WS SP Esteban Loaiza Chi. WS SP Roy Halladay Toronto SP Jamie Moyer Seattle SP Mark Mulder Oakland SP Barry Zito Oakland SP *C.C. Sabathia Cleveland RP Eddie Guardado Minnesota RP Brendan Donnelly Angels RP Keith Foulke Oakland RP *Lance Carter Tampa Bay RP *Shig.Hasegawa Seattle RP *Mike MacDougal Kansas City

*--*

NATIONAL LEAGUE RESERVES, PITCHERS

*--* Pos Player Team C Paul Lo Duca Dodgers 1B Richie Sexson Milwaukee 2B Jose Vidro Montreal 2B *Aaron Boone Cincinnati 3B Mike Lowell Florida SS Rafael Furcal Atlanta OF Andruw Jones Atlanta OF Preston Wilson Colorado OF Jim Edmonds St. Louis OF *Luis Gonzalez Arizona OF *Rondell White San Diego SP Kevin Brown Dodgers SP *Kerry Wood Chi. Cubs SP Mark Prior Chi. Cubs SP Woody Williams St. Louis SP Jason Schmidt San Fran SP *Russ Ortiz Atlanta RP *Randy Wolf Phila RP John Smoltz Atlanta RP Eric Gagne Dodgers RP Billy Wagner Houston RP *Armando Benitez N.Y. Mets RP *Mike Williams Pittsburgh

*--*

32nd Player Candidates: C Bengie Molina (Angels), C Jason Varitek (Boston), 1B Jason Giambi (N.Y. Yankees), 1B Frank Thomas (Chi. WS), OF Eric Byrnes (Oakland).

32nd Player Candidates: C Benito Santiago (San Francisco), SS Orlando Cabrera (Montreal), 2B Luis Castillo (Florida), OF Geoff Jenkins (Milwaukee), OF Corey Patterson (Chi. Cubs).