R.A. Dickey Is Clear Choice To Start The All-Star Game

After a shaky outing against the Yankees last Sunday, R.A. Dickey‘s status as the best pitcher in the National League was in question.

Questions answered.

Last night, Dickey knuckled his way to eight shutout innings against the Dodgers, earning his 10th straight winning decision and all-but guaranteeing he will start the All-Star Game for the National League. The numbers speak for themselves:

–12 wins, two more than any other pitcher in the N.L., and one loss, the lowest total of any N.L. pitcher who’s thrown at least 50 innings.

–113.0 innings pitched, an average of over 7 innings per start and good for second in the league, just 0.2 behind Matt Cain.

-A 2.15 ERA, the best among N.L. pitchers who have hurled at least 82 innings.

-A league-leading three complete games, including two shutouts. Dickey, Cain and Johan Santana are the only N.L. pitchers with multiple shutouts.

–118 strikeouts (2nd), a 0.885 WHIP (1st), and a 4.64 K/BB ratio (5th).

–1 wild pitch.

Did I mention he throws a knuckleball?

Dickey has separated himself from the pack, and if Tony La Russa makes the right decision, he will become just the third Mets pitcher to start an All-Star Game and the first in 24 years. Tom Seaver did it in 1970, and Dwight Gooden did it twice, in 1986 and 1988.

R.A. is making history, revolutionizing the knuckleball one transcendent start at a time. On July 10 in Kansas City, the world will witness what Mets fans have had the privilege to watch every fifth day.