31-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre finished 9th place in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Beltre played in 154 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 189 of 589 (.321 avg, .919 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 28 homers and 102 RBIs. He has now played in 1,835 games in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 1,889 of 6,874 (.275 avg, .791 OPS) with 912 runs scored, 278 homers, 1,008 RBIs and 113 stolen bases. The Red Sox are still trying to re-sign Beltre but they need to be careful here as he tends to play his best baseball during walk years.

Red Sox’ manager Terry Francona finished fourth in the voting for the A.L. Manager of the Year Award after leading the team to a 89-73 (54.9%) record despite a rash of injuries that likely would have crippled another other team in baseball. Francona has been the manager of the Red Sox for 7 years now and he has compiled a 654-480 (57.7%) record during the regular season and he is 28-17 (62.2%) during the post season. Francona was the manager that broke the curse of Babe Ruth winning both the 2004 and 2007 World Series for the Red Sox.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Clay Buchholz finished sixth in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award. He started 28 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In almost any other year Buchholz would have been in the top two for this award but not 2010 as a lot of pitchers had great years. Buchholz has now pitched in 64 games (62 starts) in his first four years with the Red Sox and he is 29-21 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Red Sox have to be ecstatic that they resisted trade offers for Buchholz as a lot of teams wanted him.

26-year old lefty starting pitcher Jon Lester finished 4th in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award. He deserved the votes as he was outstanding for the Red Sox last year. Lester started 32 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 19-9 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has now pitched in 124 games (123 starts) in parts of five years with the Red Sox and he is 61-25 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. I can see Lester winning a Cy Young Award in the near future if he can stay healthy which hasn’t been a problem since he beat cancer.

The Boston Red Sox have an amazing six All-Stars despite having no starters. Victor Martinez and Dustin Pedroia both got selected for the team but will miss it due to injury. Martinez has played in 66 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 71 of 246 (.289 avg, .824 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 9 homers and 38 RBIs. He will miss the game with a fractured left thumb. Dustin Pedroia has played in 73 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 86 of 295 (.292 avg, .871 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 12 homers, 41 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Pedroia will miss the big game with a fractured foot. 25-year old righty starting pitcher Clay Buchholz will also likely miss the game due to a hamstring issue. Buchholz has started 15 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. 26-year old lefty Jon Lester won’t be missing his first appearance at the All-Star Game. He has started 17 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 10-3 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP as he has been outstanding this season. 3B Adrian Beltre has been the Red Sox best hitter this season so he definitely deserves his first All-Star Game appearance. Beltre has played in 78 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 102 of 299 (.341 avg, .922 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 12 homers and 53 RBIs. David Ortiz had a horrible April but he has been smoking the last two months with the bat earning his fifth All-Star appearance. Ortiz has played in 67 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 60 of 228 (.263 avg, .935 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 17 homers and 54 RBIs.