On Tuesday of next week, the biggest names in baseball will gather at PNC Park for the 77th major league All-Star game. The historic exhibition game will make the week an abbreviated one from a fantasy perspective and will supply infinite players with some much overdo rest. It’s a time to celebrate strong performances of the first half of the season, like Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols’ 28 long balls, Jose Reyes’ 35 stolen bases or the ageless Tom Glavine’s 11 victories.

While most of the deserving players will be heading to Pittsburgh early next week, many were left off the final rosters. Voting and selecting the squads is an inexact science and is always up for social scrutiny afterwards. This year is no different. In this edition of Inside the Numbers, we’ll look into 62 players heading to the game, the 10 players still hoping for a chance and a few other players that were very deserving, but left off the team. It’s been 10 years since the NL team has come out on top, we’ll see if they can change the trend next week.

(Note – statistics through Monday, July 03)

American League
Catcher
Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers .301, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 32 R
Joe Mauer, Twins .391, 6 HR, 41 RBI, 45 R, 7 SB

Snubbed – Kenji Johjima, Mariners .297, 10 HR, 41 RBI, 35 R
Victor Martinez, Indians .296, 10 HR, 43 RBI, 46 R
Jorge Posada, Yankees .288, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 32 R

Mauer was a no-brainer for his stellar hitting this season and Pudge remains a fan favorite at the position for both his offense and defense (runners are 9-for-21 stealing off him, No. 1). Any of the three snubs out-produced both of the NL catchers’ numbers.

First Base
David Ortiz, Red Sox .273, 26 HR, 75 RBI, 58 R
Paul Konerko, White Sox .311, 20 HR, 63 RBI, 51 R
Jim Thome, White Sox .288, 27 HR, 68 RBI, 63 R

Snubbed – Justin Morneau, Twins .298, 22 HR, 71 RBI, 45 R
Lyle Overbay, Blue Jays .298, 14 HR, 49 RBI, 43 R

Three Sox first basemen for the contest, all very deserving. Kevin Youkilis’ all-around play could have arguably could have gotten him an invitation too.

Second Base
Mark Loretta, Red Sox .313, 3 HR, 34 RBI, 38 R
Jose Lopez, Mariners .282, 9 HR, 57 RBI, 47 R
* Robinson Cano, Yankees .325, 4 HR, 27 RBI, 34 R

Cano would be starting, but a hamstring injury will prevent him from playing. Loretta is on pace for 200 hits in Beantown, while Lopez has been one of the best RBI guys in baseball this year.

Third Base
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees .285, 19 HR, 64 RBI, 60 R, 8 SB
Troy Glaus, Blue Jays .245, 22 HR, 57 RBI, 57 R

Snubbed – Joe Crede, White Sox .300, 16 HR, 57 RBI, 47 R
Hank Blalock, Rangers .276, 11 HR, 54 RBI, 47 R

Shortstop
Derek Jeter, Yankees .341, 5 HR, 47 RBI, 54 R, 16 SB
Miguel Tejada, Orioles .316, 17 HR, 58 RBI, 59 R
Michael Young, Rangers .317, 5 HR, 53 RBI, 46 R

Snubbed – Carlos Guillen, Tigers .298, 10 HR, 49 RBI, 47 R, 10 SB

Outfield
Vladimir Guerrero, Angels .294, 17 HR, 58 RBI, 40 R
Manny Ramirez, Red Sox .308, 22 HR, 60 RBI, 49 R
Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners .358, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 65 R, 27 SB
Jermaine Dye, White Sox .315, 21 HR, 58 RBI, 50 R
Gary Matthews, Jr., Rangers .329, 8 HR, 43 RBI, 42 R
Grady Sizemore, Indians .298, 15 HR, 41 RBI, 67 R, 13 SB
Vernon Wells, Blue Jays .318, 20 HR, 62 RBI, 46 R, 10 SB
* Alex Rios, Blue Jays .330, 15 HR, 53 RBI, 46 R, 9 SB

Snubbed – Raul Ibanez, Mariners .286, 18 HR, 65 RBI, 53 R
Carl Crawford, Devil Rays .320, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 53 R, 28 SB
Magglio Ordonez, Tigers .311, 15 HR, 59 RBI, 46 R
Johnny Damon, Yankees .294, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 61 R, 17 SB
Corey Patterson, Orioles .287, 10 HR, 34 RBI, 43 R, 31 SB

Pitcher
Mark Buehrle, White Sox 9-5, 3.86 ERA, 51-28 K-BB in 116.2 IP
Jose Contreras, White Sox 8-0, 3.54 ERA, 68-27 K-BB in 96.2 IP
Roy Halladay, Blue Jays 10-2, 3.22 ERA, 62-13 K-BB in 114.2 IP
Bobby Jenks, White Sox 2-1, 2.41 ERA, 43-11 K-BB in 37.1 IP, 25-26 SVs
Scott Kazmir, Devil Rays 10-5, 3.29 ERA, 118-40 K-BB in 109.1 IP
Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox 2-1, 0.43 ERA, 42-7 K-BB in 41.2 IP, 25-27 SVs
Mark Redman, Royals 5-4, 5.59 ERA, 30-30 K-BB in 74 IP
Mariano Rivera, Yankees 4-4, 1.84 ERA, 33-8 K-BB in 44 IP, 18-20 SVs
Kenny Rogers, Tigers 10-3, 3.72 ERA, 61-25 K-BB in 109 IP
B.J. Ryan, Blue Jays 1-0, 0.45 ERA, 51-8 K-BB in 40.1 IP, 22-23 SVs
Johan Santana, Twins 9-4, 2.76 ERA, 131-23 K-BB in 124 IP
Barry Zito, Athletics 8-5, 3.28 ERA, 88-56 K-BB in 118 IP

Snubbed – Curt Schilling, Red Sox 10-2, 3.54 ERA, 102-14 K-BB in 114.1 IP
Mike Mussina, Yankees 9-3, 3.17 ERA, 104-22 K-BB in 116.1 IP
John Lackey, Angels 6-5, 3.12 ERA, 87-38 K-BB in 112.2 IP

Final Man Candidates (will be decided at 6pm ET Thur)
C A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox .326, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 31 R
C Ramon Hernandez, Orioles .274, 15 HR, 59 RBI, 33 R
1B/DH Travis Hafner, Indians .313, 22 HR, 66 RBI, 62 R
P Justin Verlander, Tigers 10-4, 3.13 ERA, 65-31 K-BB in 103.2 IP
P Francisco Liriano, Twins 9-1, 1.99 ERA, 94-20 K-BB in 81.1 IP, 1-1 SV

Liriano has been the best pitcher in the game since being inserted into the starting lineup. His stuff is filthy; bottom-line unhittable. He’s the clone of fellow starter Johan Santana and could one day become even better than the former Cy Young winner.

(Note: * - injured)

National League
Catcher
Paul Lo Duca, Mets .292, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 36 R
Brian McCann, Braves .357, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 24 R

Snubbed – Johnny Estrada, Diamondbacks .319, 6 HR, 45 RBI, 28 R
Michael Barrett, Cubs .308, 9 HR, 31 RBI, 29 R

First Base
Albert Pujols, Cardinals .323, 28 HR, 73 RBI, 59 R
Lance Berkman, Astros .323, 24 HR, 75 RBI, 46 R
Ryan Howard, Phillies .284, 28 HR, 69 RBI, 43 R

Snubbed – Nick Johnson, Nationals .297, 13 HR, 35 RBI, 52 R, 6 SB

Nobody got more votes than Pujols (2,206,409) and nobody deserved more. He’s on pace for 56 HR and 146 RBI, and the guy missed three weeks with an injury. The three basemen voted in represent the top-three RBI leaders in the NL. Howard has made the rise fast!

Second Base
Chase Utley, Phillies .300, 16 HR, 49 RBI, 66 R, 8 SB
Dan Uggla, Marlins .307, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 51 R

Snubbed – Brandon Phillips, Reds .322, 7 HR, 44 RBI, 41 R, 16 SB

Uggla has been one of the best rookies in the senior circuit three months. He’s already set a Marlins franchise record for home runs by a second basemen, while maintaining a .300 average for most of the year.

Third Base
David Wright, Mets .320, 18 HR, 66 RBI, 51 R, 11 SB
Miguel Cabrera, Marlins .344, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 60 R, 7 SB
Scott Rolen, Cardinals .335, 12 HR, 53 RBI, 53 R
Freddy Sanchez, Pirates .361, 5 HR, 46 RBI, 46 R

Snubbed – Garrett Atkins, Rockies .304, 10 HR, 55 RBI, 50 R

Until Joe Randa got hurt on the first of May, Sanchez was a no-name in the fantasy world. He’s got a chance to start at 3B everyday since and is quietly the third best hitter in the game, behind Mauer (.391) and Garciaparra (.362).

Shortstop
Jose Reyes, Mets .296, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 71 R, 35 SB
Edgar Renteria, Braves .304, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 47 R, 9 SB

In the month of June, Reyes hit .373 (41-for-110) with 28 runs and 14 stolen bases to cement the starting role. He edged Jack Wilson (.258/7/25/37/2) by about 100,000 votes to become the fourth position player starting for the Mets, joining Beltran, Wright and Lo Duca. Glavine has a legitimate chance to start at age 41 on the mound as well.

Outfield
Jason Bay, Pirates .283, 20 HR, 60 RBI, 53 R, 6 SB
Carlos Beltran, Mets .289, 24 HR, 65 RBI, 60 R, 12 SB
Alfonso Soriano, Nationals .266, 26 HR, 55 RBI, 58 R, 18 SB
Andruw Jones, Braves .274, 18 HR, 66 RBI, 48 R
Matt Holliday, Rockies .343, 15 HR, 55 RBI, 58 R
Carlos Lee, Brewers .286, 25 HR, 68 RBI, 53 R, 11 SB

Snubbed – Brad Hawpe, Rockies .315, 15 HR, 48 RBI, 38 R
Jacque Jones, Cubs .309, 15 HR, 44 RBI, 33 R

Even with the Pirates dead last in the NL, Bay quietly finished second in fan voting in the league (1.7 mil votes). Beltran is on pace for career-best numbers in N.Y., while Carlos Lee remains one of the most under-rated players in the game. He’s also having a career-best year.

Pitcher
Bronson Arroyo, Reds 9-4, 2.58 ERA, 89-26 K-BB in 118.2 IP
Chris Carpenter, Cardinals 6-4, 2.85 ERA, 88-26 K-BB in 98 IP
Brian Fuentes, Rockies 2-1, 2.16 ERA, 45-13 K-BB in 33.1 IP, 15-18 SVs
Tom Glavine, Mets 11-2, 3.34 ERA, 75-33 K-BB in 107.2 IP
Tom Gordon, Phillies 2-3, 2.12 ERA, 41-11 K-BB in 34 IP, 21-22 SVs
Trevor Hoffman, Padres 0-1, 1.16 ERA, 24-5 K-BB in 31 IP, 20-21 SVs
Pedro Martinez, Mets 7-4, 3.45 ERA, 111-28 K-BB in 101.2 IP
Brad Penny, Dodgers 9-2, 2.94 ERA, 76-26 K-BB in 101 IP
Jason Schmidt, Giants 6-3, 2.73 ERA, 99-39 K-BB in 115.1 IP
Derrick Turnbow, Brewers 4-4, 4.71 ERA, 45-22 K-BB in 36.1 IP, 23-29 SVs
Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks 9-3, 2.72 ERA, 97-20 K-BB in 132.1 IP
Carlos Zambrano, Cubs 7-3, 3.33 ERA, 118-65 in 119 IP

Snubbed – Aaron Harang, Reds 9-5, 3.65 ERA, 112-30 K-BB in 118.1 IP
Josh Johnson, Marlins 7-4, 2.34 ERA, 69-37 K-BB in 80.2 IP
Roy Oswalt, Astros 6-4, 3.27 ERA, 74-22 K-BB in 110 IP
Derek Lowe, Dodgers 7-4, 3.49 ERA, 59-36 K-BB in 116 IP

Final Man Candidates (will be decided at 6pm ET Thur)
SS Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers .362, 10 HR, 49 RBI, 49 R
OF Bobby Abreu, Phillies .290, 8 HR, 57 RBI, 52 R, 15 SB
P Chris Capuano, Brewers 9-4, 3.45 ERA, 106-25 K-BB in 120 IP
P Billy Wagner, Mets 3-1, 2.39 ERA, 48-17 K-BB in 37.2 IP, 15-19 SVs
P Chris Young, Padres 7-4, 3.13, 95-38 K-BB in 103.2 IP

Nomar is the most deserving here. After two injury-riddled seasons, he’s returned to his former dominance. Despite missing the first three weeks of the year, he’s on pace for 20 HR, 100 RBI, while looking to finish over .350 for the third time in his career.