Ryan Ludwick slugs way to NL All-Star Award
SOUTH GRAND — While first baseman Albert Pujols continues his postseason looting of baseball’s various trophies, outfielder Ryan Ludwick scored a nod for his breakout — perchance, breakthrough — season with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ludwick, a National League All-Star this past summer, was selected to Sporting News’ National League All-Star team, the magazine’s editor announced this afternoon. The Sporting News, which used to be based in St. Louis, selected Pujols as the All-NL first baseman and put Ludwick in its All-NL outfield, flanked by Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun and Colorado’s Matt Holliday.
The All-Star teams are featured in the magazine’s season-in-review issue, released this week.
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick
Ludwick tied for the team lead with 37 home runs, to go with his 104 runs and 113 RBIs. He rewrote his career highs across professional baseball, and came one base hit shy of batting .300 for the season. Ludwick’s 80 extra-base hits ranked second on the team to Pujols, and together the were No. 1 and No. 2 in the National League in slugging percentage. Pujols’ slugged .653; Ludwick .591.
The announcement is an excuse to revisit an interesting statistical feat.
As researched by Bernie Miklasz earlier this season, Pujols and Ludwick were on pace to pull off a rare daily double. Four times in baseball history have teammates been No. 1 and No. 2 in the majors in slugging percentage. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig did it three times, and the last tandem to do it, Joe Morgan and George Foster, did it in 1976. Ludwick and Pujols nearly became the third duo to do so — finishing No. 1 and No. 3 in all of the majors, separated only by Manny Ramirez’s .601 slugging percentage.
Pujols and Ludwick are the first teammates to lead the NL in slugging since Dante Bichette (.620) and Larry Walker (.607) did in 1995, the first year of Coors Field.
Ludwick, who was an All-Star in the National League before he was an everyday player for the Cardinals, was among the most productive outfielders in the league, with the following ranks among outfielders across the back of his baseball card: 37 HR (2nd), 113 RBIs (1st), 40 doubles (tied 4th), 104 runs (4th), .375 on-base percentage (6th) and .966 OPS (1st).
The Sporting News‘ National League All-Star team:
C Geovany Soto, Cubs
1B Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2B Chase Utley, Phillies
3B David Wright, Mets
SS Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
OF Matt Holliday, Rockies
OF Ryan Braun, Brewers
OF Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals
SP Tim Lincecum, Giants
RP Brad Lidge, Phillies
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
What a fantastic dream Hanley Ramirez is for us fans of the Birds. Oh, if only…
Great article…hope this puts some of the screaming heads on the chat boards in thier place
Good for LUD. Well deserved! He has made his statement that he can play with the best of them. A class act himself through the professionalism he personafies. Another peice to the 25 man roster that wears the “Birds on the Bat” with dignity and pride. Congratulations Ryan!
Ok…is it too much to consider a three way trade, considering teams like the Yankees and there hopes for outfield depth and maybe some right-handed relief help in order to obtain Peavy? Even without Peavy, more outstanding starting pitching can’t be a bad thing, even if it is at the triple A level. I like the young starting pitchers at Triple A the Cards have, but I don’t believe many (if any) are going to be in the mold of Waino. More help obtained that way? Piniero and others as an offering anyone?
I suppose the person most surprised by this selection must be TLR who didn’t consider Ludwick an every day player even after the All-Star game. Do the Cardinals expect Ludwick to hit 30 HR and knock in 100 runs next year? I bet Tony doesn’t. What about you?
So, we DO HAVE SOMEONE to hit behind and protect Albert!
Thanks for the great article….as usual. Congratulations to Ryan on a great honor. I have a 48 year collection of “The Sporting News” and these SN All Star teams down through the years have included many of the greatest players of the game.This puts Ryan in great company. I think he deserves immense credit for the success that the Cardinals had this past season….not only for his run production but also for the protection that he provided for Albert. They were a tremendous run-producing duo…..not only among the best in the game this year but among the best in Cardinals’ history. That’s quite an All-Star Team. I wouldn’t quibble with any of the choices. I would have if Ryan had been slighted, though.
Does Molina make the 2nd team at catcher? Aside from Ludwick, Yadi’s bat was probably the most pleasant surprise in the ‘08 season and his D - the glove and arm - are always among the best.
What a great new Ryan Ludwick deserves the award, he is a very important part of the future of St. Louis baseball. jray
Ludwick’s NL slugging and other offensive rankings among outfielders should be emailed to every pitcher, catcher, manager and pitching coach in baseball, in hopes of convincing them to pitch to Pujols a little more. Note that for Ludwick’s HR, rbi and doubles rankings, he got where he was with relatively few ABs, given that he still got platooned for the first few months of the season.
Hanley Ramierez is a supremely talented player who puts up great fantasy stats but is overrated as a contributor to a real team.