Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond has been phenomenal during the 2013 Major League Baseball season. His outstanding performance on defense and at the plate is a huge reason why the team is in the mix for the National League East division crown. For that reason, there is no question he deserves to be cast as the last player to the 2013 MLB All-Star game. However, he will need the help of the fans in order to receive the great honor of playing in the Midsummer Classic.
Desmond will have to beat out Freddie Freeman, Adrian Gonzalez, Hunter Pence and rookie Yasiel Puig to reach his first All-Star game. The fact that he has been the best player on the Nationals this season should be reason enough for him to get selected, but it is all up to the fans to cast as many votes as possible.
The 27-year-old is batting .284 with a team-high 15 home runs, 49 RBI, 23 doubles, two triples, 10 stolen bases and 40 runs in 324 at-bats this season. He knocked in 28 runs in the month of June alone, which ranked first in the National League. Not to mention, he has been terrific on defense in which he has committed only nine errors in 373 total chances for a .976 fielding percentage.
Not only do Desmond’s teammates believe he deserves to be an All-Star, but they are not afraid to admit that he means everything to the success of the organization.
“He is the cornerstone of our infield. He plays one of the most important positions on the field,” reliever Tyler Clippard said, according to Nationals.com. “Most importantly, he wants to be a leader. He has portrayed that in the way he has played on the field and the stuff that he is doing off the field.
“He works hard. He potential is tremendous. I think he can be a great player in this game. I see a lot of similarities in him as I do to a guy like (Derek) Jeter. That says a lot to the type of player that Ian is. I’m not saying he is going to be a Jeter, but there is some similarities there.”
