MLB All-Star Game: Miami Marlins All-Time All-Star 1B

Next up on the tour of Miami Marlins All-Time All-Stars, we bring you the seemingly deep, but surprisingly shallow position of first base.

Some of you probably saw that former Miami Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez was showing up for MLB’s All-Star FanFest next weekend.

Even more than a few of you were probably wondering exactly why that happened to be the case.

Turns out he made the MLB All-Star Game once. And make no mistake, he was outright picked. Giancarlo Stanton played in 150 games that season and hit over 30 HRs, and didn’t warrant a second look. Out of names like Stanton, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson, and Anibal Sanchez…Gaby Sanchez was the lone Miami Marlins All-Star in 2011.

Why Gaby Sanchez?

Now, that 2011 selection, it actually wasn’t that surprising. Johnson went down early in the season with a major injury. Sanchez was consistent but not excellent. Stanton was a victim of circumstance, running into a trio of outfielders from bigger baseball markets that all finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting that season.

The fact it was only his second year in the majors cost him in fan and peer vote alike, shutting him out of the roster in what was easily the second best season of his career.

Ramirez, who had made the three previous All-Star Games, simply had his worst season as a professional athlete.

Add it all up, throw in a blistering first half, and Sanchez was tapped to represent Miami. Heading into that All-Star Game, he was batting .293 with 13 HR and 50 RBI. For half of that season, he was far and away the most reliable bat in the Miami Marlins lineup.

Career With The Marlins

For his career, Sanchez spent parts of five seasons on the Marlins roster. That All-Star effort in 2011 would be the last complete season he’d play though, as he ended up being one of the first roster casualties of that disastrous 2012 campaign.

There wasn’t really a lot of outcry over the move either. After closing out 2011 with a .225 average, not to mention only half the offensive counting stats, he was hitting a horrendous .202 at the time he was dealt.

Much like Charles Johnson though, he was a local favorite. Sanchez played both his high school and college ball in Miami. And like CJ, was a Hurricane alum. Plus, unlike many of the names that will grace this list, he was kind enough to have his best seasons as a Marlin.

Of all the turbulent trades in Miami Marlins history that involved shipping off an All-Star, sending Gaby Sanchez off to Pittsburgh is far and away the least regrettable. But from 2010 to 2011, he was a stable homegrown presence in the Marlins lineup, and the best first baseman to man the position since 2003.