David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior WriterJun 17, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
Online voting is underway for the 94th MLB All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on July 16, which got us thinking: What is the longest All-Star position drought for each team?
Longtime Mariners fans, for example, are aware of the revolving door the franchise has had in left field. With Luke Raley the regular there in 2024, he's establishing himself as the team's 17th different left fielder in 17 seasons. Not surprisingly, none of the previous 16 made the All-Star Game -- and we have to go back a long time to find a Mariners left fielder who did make it.
So that's the premise here. We'll find the longest positional drought for each team, separating out the outfield spots and considering starting pitchers and relievers as well (though don't expect many pitchers on our list). Players will be considered at the position they played most in the year they were selected for the All-Star Game, even if they didn't necessarily play the most games at that position for the team (or played elsewhere in the All-Star Game itself).
Let's get right into it, going from shortest positional drought to longest.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Longest drought: Left field/relief pitcher
Last All-Star at that position: Matt Kemp/Kenley Jansen, 2018
It's probably not a big surprise that the Dodgers show up first on our list, as they've had All-Stars all over the diamond in recent years. Their list of All-Stars, however, is slightly misleading because they move players around. For instance, Chris Taylor shows up as their last center fielder in 2021, but he was really a utility guy that season who started just 48 games in center; it just happened to be the position he played most often. If you don't want to include Taylor, you go back to Joc Pederson in 2015 as the last center fielder (Cody Bellinger was primarily a right fielder in 2019 and a first baseman in 2017). Max Muncy qualifies as a second baseman in 2019, although he started just 62 games there. Prior to Muncy, the Dodgers would go back to Dee Strange-Gordon in 2014 for second base.
Toronto Blue Jays
Longest drought: Third base/left field
Last All-Star at that position: Josh Donaldson/Michael Saunders, 2016
Whit Merrifield was an All-Star last season, splitting time between second base (67 starts, 595⅓ innings) and left field (66 starts, 594 innings). He also played 37 innings in right field, but he counts as a second baseman for this exercise. Either way, for the longest drought we go back to 2016, for Donaldson and Saunders. Saunders is certainly one of the more obscure All-Stars in Blue Jays history. He hit .298 with 16 home runs in the first half that year but batted .178 in the second half and would last just one more season in the majors. Donaldson's MVP season was in 2015, but 2016 capped a great four-year stretch in which he trailed only Mike Trout in bWAR.
Baltimore Orioles
Longest drought: First base
Last All-Star at that position: Chris Davis, 2013
Davis was the talk of baseball in the first half of 2013, when he entered the break with 37 home runs, tied for the second most ever in the first half (although he had played 95 games, so it was a long first half). He would finish the season with 53 home runs and 138 RBIs (both best in the majors) and third in MVP voting, behind Miguel Cabrera and Trout. Ryan Mountcastle has provided solid production at first base over the past four seasons but shares time with Ryan O'Hearn, so this drought is likely to continue.
If you're having troubling thinking of an All-Star right fielder for the Orioles, the last was Mark Trumbo in 2016, the year he led the majors with 47 home runs (and started 95 games in right). Before Trumbo, however, you'd have to go all the way back to Ken Singleton in 1981.
Washington Nationals
Longest drought: Center field
Last All-Star at that position: Bryce Harper, 2012
Harper started All-Star Games in center field for Washington in 2013 and 2018, but that wasn't his primary position either season. When he made it as a 19-year-old reserve in 2012, he did make his most starts in center field, so he gets the nod for that season -- otherwise you would have to go all the way back to Marquis Grissom and the Montreal Expos days in 1994. Victor Robles was the starting center fielder when the Nationals won the World Series in 2019, but he turned out to be a one-year wonder. The team can only hope prospect Dylan Crews will eventually solidify the position.
New York Yankees
Longest drought: Third base
Last All-Star at that position: Alex Rodriguez, 2011
Rodriguez was one of eight Yankees All-Stars in 2011, a season that saw them go 97-65 before losing to the Tigers in the ALDS. At age 35, Rodriguez would also get the last of his 14 All-Star selections. The fans voted him as the starter, but he missed the game with a torn meniscus and would finish the season with modest totals of 16 home runs and 62 RBIs in 99 games. The best season since then for a Yankees third baseman was Gio Urshela's 3.8 WAR in 2019. The Yankees have struggled to fill the position the past few years, although DJ LeMahieu recently returned from the injured list to take over for 2024.
Milwaukee Brewers
Longest drought: Second base
Last All-Star at that position: Rickie Weeks, 2011
The Brewers had a long dry spell for All-Star starting pitchers, with none from Ben Sheets in 2008 until Brandon Woodruff made it in 2019. In fact, Sheets was the only Milwaukee All-Star starting pitcher between 1994 and 2019, making it four times. In recent years, the Brewers have had a string of relievers get selected, with at least one every year but one since 2014. Weeks started the game at second base in his lone All-Star appearance in 2011, as he had 17 home runs at the break -- though he would suffer a severe ankle sprain in the second half and finish with just 20. Keston Hiura once looked like the long-term solution at second base, but his bat fizzled, and then Kolten Wong held the position for a couple of years. Now it's Brice Turang, who might have a chance to break the drought this year.
Colorado Rockies
Longest drought: Starting pitcher
Last All-Star at that position: Ubaldo Jimenez, 2010
It's probably not a surprise that the Rockies' drought falls on the position of starting pitcher -- the only starting pitcher on the list. Jimenez not only made the All-Star team in 2010 but started the game after one of the best first halves in the past few decades, going a ridiculous 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA. No pitcher since has won 15 games in the first half, and the last pitcher to do it before Jimenez was David Wells in 2000. Jimenez faded a bit in the second half and finished with 19 wins and a third-place finish in the Cy Young voting. He had a few more solid seasons but was never able to find that first-half magic of 2010.
Detroit Tigers
Longest drought: Center field
Last All-Star at that position: Curtis Granderson, 2009
The Tigers have had the least impressive list of All-Stars in recent seasons -- Michael Lorenzen in 2023 and a string of relievers before that -- and other than Miguel Cabrera's honorary selection in 2022, they haven't had a position player make it since Justin Upton in 2017. Center field has been a huge problem for a decade now. Since Austin Jackson was traded during the 2014 season after a five-year run as the starting center fielder, the Tigers are now on their 10th different starter in 11 seasons, with only Anthony Gose in 2015 starting more than 100 games. Three players have started at least 10 games there in 2024.
Granderson was the team's regular center fielder from 2006 to 2009 before he was traded to the Yankees in a three-team deal that brought Max Scherzer to Detroit. While Granderson's best season with the Tigers came in 2007, when he hit .302 with 23 triples, his All-Star appearance came in 2009 and he remains the only center-field selection for Detroit since Chet Lemon started the 1984 contest. Granderson later added two more All-Star trips with the Yankees.
Boston Red Sox
Longest drought: Left field
Last All-Star at that position: Jason Bay, 2009
From Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski to Jim Rice and Mike Greenwell and, later, Manny Ramirez, Red Sox left fielders were mainstays in the All-Star Game for decades -- but it's now the longest positional drought for the team, just edging out catcher (Victor Martinez was the last one in 2010). Bay was acquired from the Pirates in 2008 as part of the three-team trade that sent Ramirez to the Dodgers. He hit 36 home runs and drove in 119 runs for the Red Sox in 2009, finishing seventh in the MVP voting. Andrew Benintendi has been the best of the left fielders since, with a 4.8-WAR season in 2018, although Jarren Duran has a chance to end the drought this season (he's played a few more games in left field than center).
Houston Astros
Longest drought: First base
Last All-Star at that position: Lance Berkman, 2008
The Astros have obviously had no shortage of All-Stars during their dynastic run, with at least three All-Stars every season since 2017. Yuli Gurriel was the regular first baseman for six seasons until they signed Jose Abreu last year, but he was never an All-Star despite several solid seasons, including a batting title in 2021. Berkman was a five-time All-Star with the Astros, starting All-Star Games in center field, right field and first base. While not quite underappreciated -- he had six top-seven MVP finishes in his career -- a lot of people might have forgotten how good he was, with three seasons with an OPS over 1.000.
Chicago Cubs
Longest drought: Right field
Last All-Star at that position: Kosuke f*ckudome, 2008
This one is a little tricky, depending on what position you list Kris Bryant at for 2021 -- complicated by the fact that he was traded to the Giants after the All-Star break. With the Cubs, he started at least 10 games at five different positions. His most starts came at third base, but his most innings came in right field. For the season, including his time with the Giants, his most starts and innings came at third base while he played more innings in left field than right. We settled on calling him a third baseman for this exercise.
So that gives us f*ckudome, who had a lot of hype when he came over from Japan in 2008 and was voted in as a starter, although he was hitting a so-so .279 with seven home runs at the break. He was an OK hitter in his three-plus seasons with the Cubs, drawing a lot of walks and hitting some doubles, but he topped out at 2.1 WAR in 2009 -- definitely not the big star he had been in Japan. He was 31 years old when he came over, so maybe an in-his-prime f*ckudome would have fared better.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Longest drought: Second base
Last All-Star at that position: Orlando Hudson, 2007
OK, this is another tricky one to sort out. Ketel Marte actually started the All-Star Game at second base in 2019, the year he would finish fourth in the MVP voting. He was on the ballot as a second baseman and was the fan-elected starter, but he spent the season alternating between second and center field, ending up with 89 starts in center and 45 at second. So, by our rules here, center field was his primary position.
That pushes the team's longest drought back to Hudson, a slick-fielding second baseman who won four Gold Gloves and made one All-Star team with the Diamondbacks and another with the Dodgers. If you do want to count Marte as a second baseman, then the longest positional drought goes to catcher, with Miguel Montero in 2014. Both of those droughts could actually end this season, with Marte at second and Gabriel Moreno behind the plate.
Miami Marlins
Longest drought: Third base
Last All-Star at that position: Miguel Cabrera, 2007
Cabrera was a four-time All-Star in his four full seasons from 2004 to 2007 with the Marlins, the first two as an outfielder and the latter two as a third baseman. He replaced Mike Lowell as the third baseman, after Lowell had made three trips to the All-Star Game representing the Marlins. After the ill-fated trade that sent Cabrera to the Tigers following the 2007 season, third base became a revolving door of mediocrity for the Marlins, with 10 different regulars over an 11-year span (only Martin Prado repeated as a starter).
Amazingly, while Brian Anderson is listed as the regular at third from 2018 through 2022, the Marlins haven't had a player start 100 games at the position since Derek Dietrich in 2017. Jake Burger was supposed to be the everyday third baseman in 2024, but he was injured early on and has played some first base and now six different players have started at third. Different season, same old Marlins.
New York Mets
Longest drought: Catcher
Last All-Star at that position: Paul Lo Duca, 2006
From 1996 to 2006, the Mets had an All-Star catcher every season but one. They had Todd Hundley for two years, Mike Piazza for seven and then Lo Duca in 2006 (he was one of four Mets starters that year alongside David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes). Since Lo Duca left the Mets after the 2007 season, however, no Mets catcher has been able to hold down the regular job for more than two years in a row. That list includes Omir Santos, Rod Barajas, Josh Thole, John Buck, Kevin Plawecki, James McCann and Tomas Nido. And the only 2-WAR season at catcher since Lo Duca came from Wilson Ramos in 2019. Francisco Alvarez will hopefully end both of those droughts for the Mets, although his thumb injury means the All-Star drought will live on at least another year.
Philadelphia Phillies
Longest drought: Shortstop
Last All-Star at that position: Jimmy Rollins, 2005
This one was definitely a surprise. First off, the Phillies had just two All-Stars last season, and you would never guess who they were: Nick Castellanos and Craig Kimbrel. They had just two in 2022 (Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber) and two in 2021 (J.T. Realmuto and Zack Wheeler). Before that, it was six consecutive seasons with just one All-Star. The last time they had more than two was 2012. That should end this season with the likes of Harper, Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suarez.
Anyway, Rollins was a three-time All-Star but did not make it in his MVP season of 2007. The NL shortstops that year were Jose Reyes of the Mets and J.J. Hardy of the Brewers -- even though Rollins was hitting .286 with 16 home runs, 53 RBIs and 71 runs in 88 games at the break (Reyes was hitting .307 with 46 stolen bases while Hardy had 18 home runs and 54 RBIs, so it was a tough choice).
St. Louis Cardinals
Longest drought: Center field
Last All-Star at that position: Jim Edmonds, 2005
Get this: The Cardinals haven't had an All-Star outfielder at any position since Matt Holliday in 2015 -- a pretty remarkable fact given the team has had a lot of success over that time. They've had an outfielder post a 4-WAR season just twice since then: Tommy Pham (6.2) in 2017 and Tyler O'Neill (6.1) in 2021. The Cardinals haven't been that terrible overall in the outfield, however, ranking 14th in the majors in OPS and 11th in home runs among outfielders since 2016. It's a different story in 2024, however, as the Cardinals are near the bottom of the majors in both categories.
Texas Rangers
Longest drought: First base
Last All-Star at that position: Mark Teixeira, 2005
The Rangers had five All-Stars last year, so that quickly knocked out five positions. At first it seemed we might get a reliever here since the last Rangers reliever to make it was Neftali Feliz in 2010. Alas, it turns out instead to be first base. Teixeira had a huge season in 2005, hitting 43 home runs with 144 RBIs, although it was surprising to see he made just three All-Star teams in his career: one with the Rangers and two with the Yankees. For those remembering Prince Fielder repping the Rangers in 2015, he was a DH that year. The drought will roll on another season as Nathaniel Lowe missed the first 21 games of the season and hasn't put up All-Star numbers.
Cincinnati Reds
Longest drought: Center field
Last All-Star at that position: Ken Griffey Jr., 2004
It's always fun to see a random Ken Griffey Jr. reference pop up. Griffey's time with the Reds was racked with injuries, and he made just three All-Star appearances in his nine seasons with the team, the last of those coming in 2007, when he had moved to right field. The Reds have certainly had instability in center field in recent seasons, with four players starting there so far in 2024 (TJ Friedl is back from injury and should be the regular moving forward) and six in 2023, although they did have a span when Billy Hamilton was the regular for five seasons. So this drought will also live on another year. (I thought catcher might win out here, as the Reds have had just two All-Star catchers since Johnny Bench retired: Bo Diaz in 1987 and Devin Mesoraco in 2014.)
Tampa Bay Rays
Longest drought: Center field
Last All-Star at that position: Randy Winn, 2002
We go back to the dark days of the Devil Rays, back when they were usually represented with just one token All-Star each season: In nine of their first 10 seasons, that was the case. Winn was the All-Star in 2002 and did have an excellent season, hitting .298 with 62 extra-base hits and 27 stolen bases while posting 4.8 WAR. After the season, the Devil Rays traded Winn to the Mariners for ... manager Lou Piniella, in one of the strangest transactions in MLB history. Winn remains the only All-Star center fielder for Tampa Bay, although the position has produced value over the years from the likes of Rocco Baldelli, B.J. Upton, Desmond Jennings and Kevin Kiermaier. In fact, thanks in large part to Kiermaier's outstanding defense, the Rays rank seventh in fWAR at center field since 2003.
Cleveland Guardians
Longest drought: Right field
Last All-Star at that position: Juan Gonzalez, 2001
Cleveland has two long droughts in the outfield: center field and right. Grady Sizemore was the last center fielder, making it in 2008 (the last of his three All-Star appearances before injuries ruined his career), and Gonzalez made it way back in 2001 in his only season with Cleveland. The only All-Star outfielder since Sizemore has been left fielder Michael Brantley, a three-time All-Star for Cleveland between 2014 and 2018. The Guardians' droughts in center and right field are pretty pronounced: The last 3-WAR player at either position was Shin-Soo Choo and Brantley (when he played center) in 2012. Those positions are no more solidified in 2024, with converted shortstop Tyler Freeman in center and a platoon in right field.
Chicago White Sox
Longest drought: Second base
Last All-Star at that position: Ray Durham, 2000
This is certainly not a surprise as second base in Chicago has been one of the weakest positions in the majors for years now. The White Sox are on their way to their seventh straight season with a different primary second baseman -- and their attempts to fill it have been uninspiring retread veterans. They haven't had the same regular since Gordon Beckham held down the position from 2010 to 2014 (although he never hit much after a good rookie season). Tadahito Iguchi gave them a couple of solid seasons, including the World Series year of 2005, but Durham was the last star player they had there -- a very underrated player who posted 33.8 career WAR and finished with over 2,000 career hits.
Kansas City Royals
Longest drought: Right field
Last All-Star at that position: Jermaine Dye, 2000
Dye was the only Royals player to start an All-Star Game between 1991 (Danny Tartabull) and 2014 (Salvador Perez). What a year he had in 2000, hitting .321 with 33 home runs and 118 RBIs and winning a Gold Glove. From 1992 to 2012, the Royals had more than one All-Star only twice: Dye and Mike Sweeney in 2000, and Sweeney and Mike MacDougal in 2003. The right-field drought won't end this season, but the Royals should be a lock for multiple All-Stars, with strong candidates in Perez, Bobby Witt Jr., Seth Lugo, Brady Singer and Cole Ragans.
San Diego Padres
Longest drought: Catcher
Last All-Star at that position: Benito Santiago, 1992
The Padres have a few long droughts in progress, with right field going back to Tony Gwynn's last appearance in 1999 (although Fernando Tatis Jr. should end that this year) and center field going back to Steve Finley in 1997 (maybe Jackson Merrill ends that in a year or two). But for catcher, we go back more than three decades to Santiago. The fans voted Santiago in as the All-Star starter in 1989, 1991 and 1992, and he made the 1990 team as a backup. He wasn't really a great player due to low on-base percentages, but he had bazooka for an arm and catcher wasn't particularly deep at the time. What I didn't realize is what a mess the Padres' catching situation has been since Santiago left as a free agent after 1992. They've had 21 different primary catchers since then, with only Austin Hedges lasting more than two seasons in a row. The last 2-WAR season from their starting catcher was Derek Norris in 2015.
Atlanta Braves
Longest drought: Left field
Last All-Star at that position: Ron Gant, 1992
Chipper Jones had two seasons as the regular left fielder in 2002 and 2003 but didn't make the All-Star team either season. In fact, Jones went six seasons in a row (2002 to 2007) without making an All-Star team, which is a pretty long All-Star drought for somebody who might be considered an inner-circle-type Hall of Famer. Gant's best years with the Braves were actually 1990, 1991 and 1993, all seasons in which he topped 30 home runs, but his lone All-Star appearance with the Braves came in 1992, when he hit just 17. Like a lot of teams, left field has been a revolving door in Atlanta. The last player with more than two consecutive seasons as the regular there was Ryan Klesko, who replaced Gant and was the regular for five seasons (1994 to 1998).
Oakland Athletics
Longest drought: Center field
Last All-Star at that position: Dave Henderson, 1991
Henderson is best remembered for the home runs he hit for the Red Sox in the 1986 ALCS and his go-ahead blast in the 10th inning of Game 6 of the World Series that postseason, but he had an excellent run as Oakland's center fielder from 1988 to 1991, averaging 5.2 WAR per season. He was a fan-elected starter in 1991, his only All-Star appearance, although he started the game in right field with Ken Griffey Jr. in center. The team's longest-running center fielder since then was Coco Crisp, the regular from 2010 to 2014. JJ Bleday has been the regular in 2024 and has an outside chance of making the All-Star team, although Oakland's likely lone rep will be closer Mason Miller.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Longest drought: Right field
Last All-Star at that position: Bobby Bonilla, 1991
The Pirates have three long droughts in play: Jack Wilson was their last All-Star shortstop, in 2004; at catcher, it's Jason Kendall in 2000, the last of his three All-Star selections; and for right field, we go all the way back to Bobby Bo. He was a four-time All-Star for the Pirates from 1988 to 1991, making it as a third baseman the first two seasons and then as a right fielder (although he spent time at third base both of those seasons as well). Over those four seasons, he hit .284/.359/.495 while averaging 24 home runs and 102 RBIs -- in a time of fairly low offense, too. Without a regular right fielder in 2024, the drought will continue. As for catcher or shortstop, Oneil Cruz may be a future All-Star at shortstop, but it's not happening this season.
Los Angeles Angels
Longest drought: Catcher
Last All-Star at that position: Lance Parrish, 1990
Logan O'Hoppe looks like he will be a long-term solution at a position that has plagued the Angels since Chris Iannetta's four-year run as starter ended in 2015. The Angels have had some decent players at catcher: Mike Napoli was an offense-first catcher, although manager Mike Scioscia never completely handed the reins to him, and Bengie Molina was a solid six-year starter, including the World Series year of 2002. Still, we have to go back to Parrish to find an All-Star catcher for the Angels. He was a big, strong guy who hit 324 career home runs and was known as one of the best plate blockers of his time, back when that was allowed. He's mostly remembered for his time with Detroit, where he was a six-time All-Star, but he also made All-Star appearances with the Phillies and Angels.
Seattle Mariners
Longest drought: Left field
Last All-Star at that position: Phil Bradley, 1985
Ah, yes, left field is indeed the longest drought for the Mariners. Bradley and Tom Paciorek (in 1981) are the only All-Star left fielders in Mariners history. Bradley, a former quarterback at Missouri, had an outstanding 1985 season, hitting .300/.365/.498 with 26 home runs -- after hitting no home runs in 322 at-bats the year before. How bad has left field been in Seattle? Ken Griffey Jr. lined up next to 10 different left fielders in his 11 Opening Day starts for the Mariners. This season, Dominic Canzone became the 17th consecutive different left fielder to start for the Mariners on Opening Day. The last Mariners left fielder with two or more consecutive Opening Day starts was Raul Ibanez from 2006 to 2008. He was an All-Star in 2009 ... with the Phillies.
San Francisco Giants
Longest drought: Center field
Last All-Star at that position: Chili Davis, 1984
The Giants have had few All-Star outfielders not named Barry Bonds over the past few decades. Other than him, it has been slim pickings since Davis made it a second time (as a right fielder) in 1986: Jeffrey Leonard (1987), Kevin Mitchell (1989, 1990), Moises Alou (2005), Melky Cabrera (2012), Hunter Pence (2014) and Joc Pederson (2022). That drought isn't going to change this season.
Even Davis was a bit of a dubious choice. By the second half of 1984, he had moved to right field and ended up starting just 66 games in center and playing 578 innings there -- hardly a full-time center fielder, but it was the position he played most that season. Before Davis, you would have to go all the way back to, yes, Willie Mays, in 1971 (although even he started only 77 games in center that season). Anyway, center field has been a mess for the Giants for a long time now -- Jung Hoo Lee was the eighth regular there in eight seasons, and he's out for the year after shoulder surgery.
However, the longest All-Star positional drought belongs to the ...
Minnesota Twins
Longest drought: Left field
Last All-Star at that position: Gary Ward, 1983
Gary Ward, step on down! Ward spent four years in Triple-A before the Twins finally gave him a chance to play in 1981, when he was 27 years old. In 1982, he hit .289 with 28 home runs. In 1983, he hit .278 with 19 home runs and was the Twins' sole representative at the All-Star Game. The Twins then traded him after that season to the Rangers, and Ward made a second All-Star team in 1985. The Twins have had some good seasons since then from their left fielders, most notably Shane Mack in 1992 (6.5 WAR), Marty Cordova in 1995 (Rookie of the Year), Jacque Jones in 2002 (5.5 WAR) and Eddie Rosario in 2018 (4.3 WAR), but none were All-Stars. Left field has been a mish-mash for several years now, with six different players starting there in 2024.
