Players snubbed from a well-earned starting spot in Major League Baseball's All-Star game are nothing new, but some players have been robbed more than others in their career.
On the next few pages we will take a look at 20 players that had at least 50 career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) during the All-Star era (1933-present) and were never elected to start an All-Star game (for position players) or chosen as a starting pitcher by the squad's manager.
These players, which includes three Hall of Famers would make for a pretty good All-Star team in their own right.
#20 Johan Santana
Teams: Twins, Mets
Position: Starting pitcher
Seasons: 12
Career Wins Above Replacement (WAR): 50.7
All-Star Reserve: 4 times
Key stats: 2-time Cy Young Award winner
#19 Orel Hershiser
Teams: Dodgers, Indians, Mets, Giants
Position: Starting pitcher
Seasons: 18
Career Wins Above Replacement (WAR): 51.7
All-Star Reserve: 3 times
Key stats: Four times finished in the top-4 in Cy Young voting including one win in 1988 when he went 23-8 with a 2.26 ERA. In 1985 he went 19-3 with a 2.03 ERA.
#18 Mariano Rivera
Teams: Yankees
Position: Relief pitcher
Seasons: 19
Career Wins Above Replacement (WAR): 55.4
All-Star Reserve: 12
Key stats: Unfortunately for Mo Rivera there is no "starting" closer. Four times he has finished in the top-3 in Cy Young voting.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider