Detroit Tigers: Five best Tigers who weren’t All-Stars

Billy Rogell, SS (24.9 bWAR)

Rogell checked in as Detroit’s fifth best shortstop of all-time, yet despite playing most of his career in the All-Star game era, Rogell never made it to the midsummer classic.

Rogell played for the Tigers from 1930-1932, before the All-Star game existed. However, his best seasons came after the game was instilled, and he still never made it.

Rogell led the league in games played in 1933 and 1934. He was a walk machine, a skill that has been wildly under-appreciated for most of baseball history. That is a likely factor in Rogell’s lack of inclusion in any All-Star games. Additionally, a lot of Rogell’s value (at least according to bWAR) comes from his defensive prowess, something else that doesn’t often get players into the All-Star game.

And finally, the All-Star game had much smaller rosters back then. In both 1933 and 1934, the only shortstop to make the AL roster was Joe Cronin. Rogell was hitting .322 at the break in 1933, and .310 in 1934.

Rogell was a quality big leaguer for the Tigers for about a decade. It’s not too surprising he didn’t make an All-Star team. Had rosters been the size they are nowadays, it’s likely he would have been a reserve on one of those first two teams.