Rangers can make history with five All-Star starters

The Rangers offense has been among MLB’s biggest stories this season, as Texas led MLB in both run differential (+153) and runs per game (5.90) entering Friday -- the latter of which is the highest by any team since the 2007 Yankees (5.98). As a result, it was unsurprising that All-Star voters took note of this success, as the Rangers had an MLB-high four position players voted to start the Midsummer Classic.

But wait … there’s more. Due to injuries to Aaron Judge and Mike Trout, Adolis García and Baltimore’s Austin Hays were announced as replacement AL starting outfielders on Friday. Barring any injuries or unrelated dropouts, this means that the Rangers will have five of the AL’s starting position players, with García joining voted starters Jonah Heim, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Josh Jung.

“That’s going to be cool. I’m happy and proud for these guys,” manager Bruce Bochy said on Friday. “I think it’s cool for Rangers fans to see their guys out there on the field. (Five) is a lot. It’ll be pretty cool to see. When you look at their numbers, they are all well deserving of being out there.”

How rare is this? Extremely. No team has done so in 47 years, and via the Elias Sports Bureau, only four teams in ASG history (since 1933) have done so. Below, we break down the teams to have five position players start in an All-Star Game.

1939 New York Yankees
ASG starters: Red Rolfe, George Selkirk, Joe Gordon, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio
Season result: 106-45-1, won World Series

One of three teams in franchise history to win at least 70 percent of their games (joining the “Murderer’s Row” 1927 squad, and Joe Torre’s 1998 group), the 1939 Yankees had no shortage of star power despite Babe Ruth’s recent retirement and Lou Gehrig being limited to eight games that season.

That star power showed up in the All-Star game, when Yankees accounted for every AL RBI in a 3-1 win. Not to mention that, for good measure, the Yankees also had the AL’s starting pitcher in the game, Hall of Famer Red Ruffing (the only instance of a team having six All-Star starters if pitchers are included). New York proceeded to win the AL pennant by 17 games before sweeping the Reds in the World Series.

1956 Cincinnati Redlegs
ASG starters: Roy McMillan, Frank Robinson, Johnny Temple, Ed Bailey, Gus Bell
Season result: 91-63-1, no postseason (third in NL)

Speaking of the Reds -- or the Redlegs, as they were known at the time -- they became the first NL team to have five position players start in the All-Star Game. The biggest name of the group would turn out to be Robinson, who was only 20 years old and in the midst of the first of what would end up being 14 career All-Star seasons.

But it was actually Temple who had the best performance in the Midsummer Classic, going 2-for-4 with a run and RBI. Buoyed by homers from Willie Mays and Stan Musial, the NL won, 7-3. But the Reds could not quite take home the pennant despite their litany of All-Stars, finishing two games back of a Dodgers squad featuring Duke Snider, Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella.

1957 Cincinnati Redlegs
ASG starters: Roy McMillan, Frank Robinson, Johnny Temple, Ed Bailey, Don Hoak
Season result: 80-74, no postseason (fourth in NL)

One year later, the Redlegs were back at it again, with almost the exact same quintet being named to start the All-Star Game. The only difference was that center fielder Gus Bell was an All-Star reserve in 1957, instead of starting, while third baseman Don Hoak earned his first and only career All-Star start in his first season with Cincinnati.

Despite a two-RBI double from Bell in the seventh inning, the NL couldn’t complete a comeback from deficits of 3-0 and 6-2, ultimately losing 6-5. Again, despite the Reds’ offensive aptitude -- finishing second in MLB with 4.85 runs per game -- they came up short of a postseason berth, with the Braves winning that year’s NL pennant and World Series.

1976 Cincinnati Reds
ASG starters: Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Johnny Bench
Season result: 102-60, won World Series

Yes, remarkably, the Reds franchise accounts for three of the four (likely soon to be five) instances of a team having five starting All-Star position players. And the 1976 group was the best one yet, led by Hall of Famers Morgan and Bench along with MLB’s all-time hits leader, Rose.

All five Reds starters had at least one hit in the All-Star Game, most notably including a two-run homer from Foster, as the NL cruised to a 7-1 win. This was a sign of good things to come for Cincinnati, which won its second consecutive World Series with a sweep of the Yankees.

The 1976 Reds are still the only team since the NLCS/ALCS were created in 1969 to finish a postseason undefeated.