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 Helling, why not? 11-game winner stunned he's not on All-Star roster
Posted: Friday July 03, 1998 07:37 PM
FARGO, North Dakota (AP) -- Twenty-four hours and an even-par round of golf had softened Rick Helling's disappointment about not making the American League All-Star team. But it had not erased it completely. "I felt like I deserved it," Helling said. Despite being tied for the league lead with 11 victories, the Texas Rangers' pitcher from Fargo was omitted from the AL pitching staff chosen by Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove. Teammate Aaron Sele, with nearly identical statistics, was chosen. "I knew it was going to be a matter of Mike Hargrove's opinion and for whatever reason he decided there were 10 other guys who deserved to go more than me," Helling said Thursday from his Arlington, Texas, condominium, fresh off shooting a 72 at a local golf course. For what it's worth to Helling and his fans back here in North Dakota, his being left off the team in favor of Sele was a matter of unfortunate circumstance more than anything else. Hargrove had said he probably would not take a pitcher who was scheduled to start the Sunday before the All-Star Game, which will be played Tuesday at Coors Field in Denver. As Helling's bad luck would have it, he will start Sunday against the Seattle Mariners in the Rangers' final game before the break. And Hargrove stayed true to his word. "The only thing ... and it doesn't really bother me," Helling said, "is Aaron and I have almost identical stats. For him to take Aaron and not me, what's the reasoning? It must be because I'm pitching Sunday and Aaron's pitching Saturday. That's the only thing I can see." Helling is 11-4 with a 4.25 ERA. Sele is 11-5 with a 4.26 ERA. A win in his most recent start, a 4-1 loss to Los Angeles on Tuesday, certainly would have helped Helling's cause. That would have given him 12 victories, tops in the majors. "It's a weird thing," Helling said. "Maybe if I was pitching Saturday and Aaron was pitching Sunday, it would be the other way around. That's just kind of how it worked out." That he missed out on a rare chance to play in the Midsummer Classic is not lost on Helling. Unlike many ballplayers who publicly say making the All-Star Game is no big deal, Helling admitted it would be a big deal to him. "No doubt. It's an honor, it's a tremendous honor. You look around the clubhouse and there are a lot of players who have been around for a long time and have never gotten a World Series ring or never played in an All-Star Game. I have a World Series ring and this year I had a chance to make the All-Star team," Helling said. "And the thing is, it might not ever happen again. I might never have the opportunity to make it. Hopefully, I'll have a lot of chances, but this might be my only chance. It would have been nice to make it." The fact that Helling was considered for the All-Star Game would have been surprising to anyone at the beginning of the season, he said. "I think if anybody would've asked me four months ago if I would be happy going 11-4 and being considered for the All-Star team, I would have been ecstatic," Helling said. Helling will have to be content watching the game on television, including the appearance of fellow North Dakotan Darin Erstad of the Anaheim Angels. The Jamestown native was chosen as a reserve outfielder by Hargrove. "To me, him not making it would have been the biggest injustice ever," Helling said. "I wrote him a little e-mail last night to congratulate him. I'm probably a little biased, but I think he is one of the 10 best players in the American League. It's nice he's being noticed by the national media and getting national attention."
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Helling feels like he deserved it 