This topic has spurred some spirited debate on the Sons of Sam Horn message boards and around watercoolers all across New England, so we thought we'd try our hand at arriving at a reasonable conclusion. At this point the question is just hypothetical as Tek's peers have already voted for him to represent the American League as a reserve catcher, but the prevalence of some other AL catchers having solid seasons raises the question of whether or not Tek truly deserves to be the recipient of this honor. The man calls a hell of a game and handles the pitching staff like none other, but does he really merit a spot on the 2008 All Star Team with his sub-par offensive numbers? Let's take a look at the numbers (and describe a few of his highly publicized intangibles) in an attempt to determine whether any other AL catcher is more worthy than our captain.

Let's start by finding out exactly where Tek stands in relation to the AL's starting catcher and Tek's fellow reserve, Joe Mauer (voted as the starter by the fans) and Dioner Navarro (added as a reserve via manager decision), respectively:

Mauer (MIN): 290 AB, 95 Hits, .328 BA, .420 OBP, .455 SLG, 4 HR, 39 RBI, 23 2B, 50 BB, 24 SO
Navarro (TBR): 234 AB, 73 Hits, .308 BA, .360 OBP, .422 SLG, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 17 2B, 19 BB, 27 SO
Varitek (BOS): 250 AB, 55 Hits, .220 BA, .300 OBP, .360 SLG, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 14 2B, 26 BB, 71 SO

Now let's see if there are any AL catchers out there having above-average years (or at least better years than Tek statistics-wise) who may be more worthy than our beloved backstopping captain:

A.J. Pierzynski (CWS): 302 AB, 88 Hits, .285 BA, .328 OBP, .430 SLG, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 20 2B, 13 BB, 38 K
Ivan Rodriguez (DET): 263, 76 Hits, .289 BA, .330 OBP, .414 SLG, 4 HR, 29 RBI, 15 2B, 15 BB, 45 K
Jorge Posada (NYY): 149 AB, 42 Hits, .282 BA, .365 OBP, .443 SLG, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 13 2B, 19 BB, 32 K
Miguel Olivo (KCR): 196 AB, 51 Hits, .260 BA, .291 OBP, .474 SLG, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 15 2B, 7 BB, 53 K
Mike Napoli (LAA): 142 AB, 29 Hits, .204 BA, .345 OBP, .455 SLG, 12 HR, 29 RBI, 2 2B, 20 BB, 46 K

Pierzynski's having a great year but he's a dick, hence the reason why he didn't get enough votes from his peers. Pudge started off incredibly slow but has heated up as of late. Posada spent a significant amount of time on the DL and is a long way from last year's ridiculous numbers, but he's posting solid stats since returning in early June. Plus, you could certainly make the case that Posada deserves a reserve spot because of this year's venue and the historical nature of the event (maybe you've heard...). Olivo has played for 5 teams by the age of 30 but has hit his stride in KC in spite of the presence of fellow catcher John Buck. Napoli has a horrendous batting average (only slightly more so than Tek) but has recorded great power numbers in spite of having the least amount of ABs of every catcher we've discussed both because he's injured and because he splits time with Jeff Mathis. (Napoli's also on the DL, making his candidacy for the team a bit of a moot point, but you can still make the case that he deserved to receive more votes than Tek based on his performance.) So basically, every catcher on that second list technically has better numbers from a fantasy perspective than Tek. There are other guys like Kurt Suzuki (OAK), Gerald Laird (TEX), Rod Barajas (TOR) and Ramon Hernandez (BAL) who have numbers similar to or better thank Tek's but you'd have a better chance of winning the Massachusetts lottery than convincing the average voter that they deserve a spot on the All-Star Team. So what gives?

This brings brings us to the "Intangibles" section of our discussion. Tek is widely considered one of the most cerebral catchers in the game. He handles the pitching staff better than any of his counterparts in the league, knows exactly what pitch to call in every situation (remember when Schill lost his no-hit bid because he shook off Tek, then said he'd never do it again?), and provides a veteran leadership not seen in most clubhouses. We all know what Tek brings to the table: slightly below average to decent offensive statistics and a plethora of intangibles that make him the prototypical team captain. He doesn't wear the "C" because he's belting 50 homers and driving in 150 every year. But what this discussion boils down to is the fact that the privilege of playing on the All-Star Team is not akin to earning some sort of career achievement award (which seems to be what the Major Leaguers who voted for Tek were trying to make it); it is meant to be a contest in which the best of the best square off against each other. The fans, players, managers and various other coaches give recognition to the players that are performing at the highest level at each position and cast their votes to have those players represent each league. In most instances, for better or worse, the number one consideration for position players is their offensive statistics. Even the most ardent admirer of Jason Varitek can't argue the fact that his numbers have been quite disappointing this season.

Bottom line: In spite of everything he does for the Boston Red Sox (and it is far more than I've given him credit for in this post), Tek does not deserve to be an All-Star this year. The fact that he may help Josh Beckett get 15-30 more strikeouts and 2-4 more wins per season doesn't make up for the .220 BA and 71 strikeouts. Sorry, Tek fans.