Florida State Baseball history in the MLB All-Star Game

The 2015 MLB All-Star Game will be played tonight, with Buster Posey being the lone FSU alumni to take the field. Posey won the fan vote and will start at catcher for the National League. This will be Posey's third Mid-Summer Classic, second amongst Florida State alumni, only behind Terry Kennedy who has four selections. In total, five former Florida State Baseball players were selected to at least one All-Star Game as a player, with one of those players also making it as a coach, and one other being selected strictly as a coach.

Outfielder Johnny Grubb made his only All-Star Game appearence in 1974. Coming off of a rookie season in which he placed sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting, Grubb hit .300 with the San Diego Padres for the first half of the 1974 season, earning him a spot in the All-Star Game. In the game, he went 0-1 after popping out to shortstop Bert Campaneris. Grubb spent a total of 16 years in the MLB, five with San Diego, two with Cleveland, five with Texas, and finished his career with five years in Detroit.

More recently, J.D. Drew made his only All-Star Game appearance in 2008, with the Boston Red Sox, 11 years after making his debut. In the first half of 2008, Drew hit .302 with 17 home runs and 55 RBI's. He had a phenomenal showing in the All-Star Game, going 2-4 with a home run, 2 RBI's and a walk. The second half of that season, Drew fell apart, hitting .201 the rest of the way. In total, he played 14 seasons in the league, six with St. Louis, one with Atlanta, two with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and five in Boston, where he won his only World Series champion.

The first Seminole ever selected to an MLB All-Star Game was Dick Howser who was selected to two All-Star Games, one as a player, and one as a manager. As a player, he made his only appearance as a rookie in 1961. At the break, Howser was hitting .268 while playing shortstop for the Kansas City Athletics. Surprisingly, he played better after being selected, hitting .293 in the second half of 1961. In the game, Howser went 0-1 with a strikeout. He managed the AL squad in 1986, after winning the World Series in 1985 with Kansas City. The AL won 3-2 with a team that included Cal Ripken, Kirby Puckett, Roger Clemens, and Ricky Henderson. Howser played eight seasons in the MLB, three with Kansas City, four with Cleveland, and two with the New York Yankees. He managed eight years, clinching four post season births, including that 1985 World Series championship, and owns a career managerial record of 507-425.

Buster Posey, in just his seventh season in the MLB, will be attending his third All-Star Game. Posey had his best year of his career in 2012 when he won MVP, was selected to his first All-Star Game, and won the Silver Slugger Award. So far this season, Posey is .314 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI's. In his previous two All-Star Games, Posey went 0-2 with a walk in his first appearance in 2012, and 0-1 with a strikeout in 2013. This will probably not be Posey's last time in an All-Star Game, and he has spent his entire seven year career in San Fransisco.

Catcher Terry Kennedy has made the most All-Star Game appearances as a player by a former FSU Seminole with four. He made his debut in his fourth year in the league in 1981 at age 25. He appeared three times as a member of the Padres, and once as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. Overall in the All-Star Game, Kennedy is 1-5 with an RBI. Kennedy had his best first half to a year in 1981 when he hit .308 in 1981. The first Florida State All-Star catcher played 14 years between 1978-1991 including three in St. Louis, six in San Diego, two in Baltimore, and three in San Fransisco.

The only member of the hall of fame on this list is Tony La Russa. In total, La Russa managed six all-star teams, three in each league. As a manager of the American League in 1989, 1990, and 1991, the four time manager of the year went 3-0, and with the National league in 2005, 2007, and 2012, went 1-2, with the lone win coming in 2012. In his 33 years of managing, La Russa went 2728-2365 including six pennants and three World Series champions. He is now the Chief Baseball Operator of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

You can watch the All-Star Game tonight July 14 on FOX beginning at 7:00 PM EST.