International League All-Stars announced

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International League All-Stars announced
06/22/2005 12:35 PM ET
International League

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The International League announced its 2005 Triple-A All-Star team on Wednesday. The team has a balance of pitching and power with 10 of the 11 pitchers under 3.00 in ERA and 11 players with double-digit home run totals. The IL All-Stars will compete against the Pacific Coast League's best in the 18th Annual Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 13, at Raley Field in Sacramento, Calif.
The IL All-Star team is made up of at least one player from every club, selected by club field personnel, media representatives, and league administrators. The Buffalo Bisons -- defending Governors' Cup Champions -- will have six representatives at the Triple-A All-Star game, including Manager Marty Brown and three elected players.
Indianapolis and Durham each will be represented by four players, with the Indians taking three of the four elected pitching slots. The oldest player on the IL roster is 36-year-old Buffalo outfielder Ernie Young, and the youngest is 20-year-old B.J. Upton, whose younger brother, Justin, was the No. 1 overall draft pick this June by Arizona. Young leads the league in RBIs and is tied for the lead in home runs with Durham's Pete LaForest at 17.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Ryan Howard -- the IL leader in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage -- has been elected to the All-Star team in his first season at the Triple-A level.
The IL's strikeout leader, Ian Snell, who has 86 Ks through 87 innings, was elected a starter. Snell, who threw a complete game no-hitter against Norwich on May 15, will be joined by his Indianapolis teammate, Zach Duke, who is 11-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 100 1/3 innings. Rochester's Travis Bowyer (16 saves, 1.36 ERA) and Indianapolis' Mark Corey (13 saves, 2.76 ERA) were chosen as the two elected relief pitchers.
The first Triple-A All-Star Game was held in 1988 when National League affiliated teams competed against American League affiliated teams. This format was followed until 1998, when it was changed to have the IL All-Stars compete against the PCL All-Stars.
Since 1998, the IL is 3-4, winning in 1998, 2003, and 2004. Last year, the IL All-Stars defeated the PCL in Pawkucket, 4-3, on a 10th-inning walk-off homer by Andy Phillips of the Columbus Clippers.
The 2005 Triple-A All-Star Game will be televised live on ESPN2 and can be heard on each team's local radio station and the American Forces Radio.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.