The 2006 All Star roster for the American League has been announced. While the All Star game is supposed to be a collection of the best players from around the league, it’s really just a popularity contest. Each year there are at least a handful of selection that leave you scratching your head. However, that’s to be expected since (1) fans vote and (2) they typically just vote for everyone on their favorite team. Following is the 2006 roster for the All Star in Pittsburgh.

STARTERS

David Ortiz 1B
Boston Red Sox

Mark Loretta 2B
Boston Red Sox

Alex Rodriguez 3B
New York Yankees

Derek Jeter SS
New York Yankees

Ivan Rodriguez C
Detroit Tigers

Vladimir Guerrero OF
Los Angeles Angels

Manny Ramirez OF
Boston Red Sox

Ichiro Suzuki OF
Seattle Mariners

PITCHERS

Mark Buerhle
Chicago White Sox

Jose Contreras
Chicago White Sox

Roy Halladay
Toronto Blue Jays

Scott Kazmir
Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Mark Redman
Kansas City Royals

Kenny Rogers
Detroit Tigers

Johan Santana
Minnesota Twins

Barry Zito
Oakland Athletics

Bobby Jenks
Chicago White Sox

Jon Papelbon
Boston Red Sox

Mariano Rivera
New York Yankees

B.J. Ryan
Toronto Blue Jays

RESERVES

Paul Konerko
Chicago White Sox

Jim Thome
Chicago White Sox

Robinson Cano
New York Yankees

Jose Lopez
Seattle Mariners

Troy Glaus
Toronto Blue Jays

Miguel Tejada
Baltimore Orioles

Michael Young
Texas Rangers

Joe Mauer
Minnesota Twins

Jermaine Dye
Chicago White Sox

Alex Rios1
Toronto Blue Jays

Gary Matthews, Jr.
Texas Rangers

Grady Sizemore
Cleveland Indians

Vernon Wells
Toronto Blue Jays

The fans still get to select one final player for the American League.