Jair Jurrjens
On Sunday Major League Baseball announced the rosters for the 2011 MLB All Star Game in Phoenix, Arizona on July 12th. It wasn’t a surprise that the players and coaches voted for Jair Jurrjens of the Atlanta Braves to get invited to the game. But thanks to being among the leaders in the National League ERA ranking and tied for first place in the league with eleven wins, the right-hander could be in line to even start the game, although Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies are favored to do it right now.
Wladimir Balentien
Playing in his first season in Japan, outfielder Wladimir Balentien is selected to the All Star Game according to a report by Honkbalsite.com. He received a total of 232,120 votes. Only his teammate at the Yakult Swallows, Norichika Aoki, got more. The two are joined by Alex Ramirez in the outfield of the Central League. In Japan the All Star Game is actually a three-game series, played from Friday, July 22 to Sunday, July 24.