[rhema]

Were any of the Reds' starters Frick didn't replace (Ed Bailey, Johnny Temple, Don Hoak, Roy McMillan, and Frank Robinson) actually worthy of starting that year?

[BluesDuke]

Frank Robinson and Ed Bailey were probably the only Reds that season who were really having All-Star seasons all around, though you could have made a case for Roy McMillan for his defence. The Reds in those years had a reputation for strong hitting and so-so pitching, but I notice that while there was a decent on-base percentage and they hit .269 as a team, almost nobody aside from Robinson and Bailey were playing like All-Stars.

The Red who was probably the worthiest All-Star, however, didn't get the starting vote and wasn't even picked as a reserve: first baseman George Crowe, who stood in when Ted Kluszewski hit the DL---it was pretty much over for the big man by then, he'd never again be the player he'd been for the previous few seasons. Crowe led the 1957 Reds in home runs (31) and runs batted in (92; no other Red drove in as many as 80 that season), but I'm guessing he just didn't have enough star power to compel even the Cincinnati ballot box stuffers to send him up there in place of Stan Musial . . .

[BluesDuke]

It should have said, “Frank Robinson and Ed Bailey were the only Reds voted to the All-Star starting lineup . . . “ My bad.