MLB.com -- The most lethal power combination in the American League
for the last four seasons -- Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz -- has
joined forces again.

Ortiz and Ramirez, fellow Red Sox sluggers, were both voted by their
peers as Sporting News All-Stars for 2006.

Sporting News' American League All-Stars, Rookie, Pitcher and Comeback
Player of the Year awards are based on voting by 220 AL players.

Ramirez and Ortiz were the only members of the American League team to
be voted on for the second consecutive season.

Ramirez was one of the starting outfielders while Ortiz, the leading
vote-getter in the American League, was selected as the designated hitter.

The rest of the American League team consisted of catcher Joe Mauer,
first baseman Justin Morneau, second baseman Robinson Cano, shortstop
Derek Jeter, third baseman Joe Crede and outfielders Jermaine Dye and
Vernon Wells. Twins lefty Johan Santana was the Pitcher of the Year
and Tigers phenom Justin Verlander was selected as the top rookie. Jim
Thome of the White Sox was voted as the Comeback Player of the Year.

Meanwhile, Ortiz and Ramirez did their thing yet again, battering
opposing pitching staffs into submission.

Big Papi, as Ortiz is commonly referred to across Red Sox Nation,
shattered the club record for homers in a season by smashing 54. Ortiz
might well have become the first American League player since the
Yankees' Roger Maris to hit 60 home runs if not for an irregular
heartbeat, which knocked him out of the lineup for nine games.

As usual, Ortiz saved many of his best hits for last. He struck five
walk-off hits, three of which were home runs.

Ramirez's overall numbers would have been impressive enough if he had
been healthy the entire year. But the fact that he produced 35 homers
and 102 RBIs despite his right knee woes limiting him to 449 at-bats
proved what a special hitter he truly is.

Not just a masher, Ramirez hit .321 to raise his career batting
average to .314. Ramirez was a terror at Fenway Park, hitting .355
with 16 homers and 53 RBIs. He wasn't too shabby on the road either,
producing a .288 average with 19 homers and 49 RBIs.

Making Ortiz and Ramirez even tougher outs is the fact that both
hitters were so patient at the plate. Ortiz drew 119 walks while
Ramirez collected 100 bases on balls. Ortiz produced a gaudy slugging
percentage of .636, which was nearly equaled by Ramirez's .619.

Source: Ian Browne / MLB.com