Who were the best Hustlers players to never be named to an All-Star Game in their career? We found five that stood out. Yes, the Hustlers have been fortunate to not have many snubs over the years, and we aren't looking at these five in the manner of a snub, either. I don't want to dive into whether or not they deserved to have made an All-Star team, I'm simply stating these are five dudes who played really great baseball for the Hustlers who happened to never have made the Mid-Summer Classic in the Brewster.
1. Alex Lopez, SP, 1978-1984
We go way back for the top guy. Granted, this was a time in the Hustlers history that was not a very successful one. It's easy to figure how a guy like Lopez would have flown under the radar. Also, for those of you who weren't around during the classic era (1973-1994), you have to take into account that we had no DH, it was pitching oriented, and the pitchers were absolute workhorses. Lopez was just that. He had five seasons in which he could have been considered for an All-Star nod, with WAR of: 8.6 (1980), 7.0 (1979), 5.8 (1982), 5.7 (1983), and 5.6 (1984).
2. Jimmy "Super" Slizz, CF, 1997-2003; 2005-2006
Slizz was a late bloomer, not reaching the bigs until he was twenty seven years of age. After his rookie season in 1997, he was one of the league's top center fielders for the next three years, posting WAR of: 5.0 (2000), 4.0 (1998), and 3.0 (1999). After that, on the wrong side of thirty, he was never a productive everyday player again, though he still continued to play until age thirty seven. And, his bloodline carried on.
3. Dieter Hartinger, SP, 2013-2022; 2029-2030
Hartinger had a couple of things going against him. First, he was susceptible to the gopher ball (he allowed 380 in his long career). More importantly, he was part of a highly successful Hustlers team with two future Hall of Famers ahead of him in the rotation (Gary Estes and Manny Bautista). That being said, he had three seasons with WAR over 4 where he could have been a candidate: 4.8 (2019), 4.5 (2017), 4.0 (2016).
4. Martin Ross, SP, 2045-2052; 2055
The last time the BBA had a back to back to back champion was the 2047-2049 Las Vegas Hustlers. Ross was (against all odds) the pseudo-ace of all three of those teams. In 2047 he won 20 games and posted a 3.2 WAR. Not a bite. On to 2048, Ross posted a career high 4.6 WAR. No All-Star nod. Then in 2049, a 4.1 WAR. All while winning three Monty titles. Again in 2050, he posted a 3.6 WAR. The All-Star reserve selections in 2048, 2049 and 2050 were made by.....yours truly. Yet I didn't pick Ross. Seems odd to me. I was his GM and I didn't really seem to believe in him either.
5. Otto Altaner, 1B, 2039-2044
Altaner's first full season in the Brewster at age twenty-two was the 2041 season. He posted a 4.1 WAR with a slash line of .351/.394/.521/.915 yet didn't make the All-Star cut. His next two seasons were almost as good, but not quite (3.5 WAR in 2042, 3.1 WAR in 2043), and his decline continued after that. He was out of the BBA at age twenty-nine, played one season in the GBC, sat out 2050, and then played two awful seasons in AAA before retiring. He was one of those guys who flashed brilliantly for just a little and then fizzled out. Too bad.
