How is it that Denard Span is not on the All-Star ballot?
He is not only the Twins’ leadoff hitter but also he is their best outfielder. He is the only one of the four outfielders who should even be considered to go to the All-Star Game. — Tony M., Little Canada, Minn. Teams can only list three outfielders on the All-Star ballot, and Span was the one outfielder who was left off the ballot submitted by the Twins. Here is my guess as to the logic for that. Michael Cuddyer was likely a lock for the ballot because he was expected to be the only outfielder set to play every day at his position (right field). Looking at left field and center field, the two players who started the most games at each of those positions respectfully last year were Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez. And those are the three players that were put on the ballot. Leaving Span off might not seem to make sense now considering that he has seen the most playing time of any outfielder. But you have to remember that teams select these ballots very early in the year. As for Span, he
