The Kansas City Royals Five Worst All-Star Selections

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4. Ellie Rodriguez – 1969

Rodriguez actually made two All-Star games in his career, appearing in his second as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972. While he deserved recognition in 1972 in what turned out to be a career season, the same could not be said about his first appearance in an All-Star game. Yet, Rodriguez still earned the honor of being the Royals first All-Star representative.

As the Royals were an expansion team that year, it was certainly slim pickings to locate someone to represent the team. However, the selection of Ellie Rodriguez, who was splitting time behind the plate with Buck Martinez, seemed a bit peculiar. It was not as though Rodriguez was tearing the cover off the ball either during the first half of the season, as he had a .260/.342/.339 batting line with two home runs. For the season, Rodriguez posted a .236/.333/.296 slash rate with those two home runs and twenty RBIs.

Both Joe Foy and Lou Pinella had solid seasons for the expansion Royals, and could have made a case to be the lone representative for Kansas City. Instead, that honor fell to a light hitting platoon catcher with solid defense.