Showalter: Markakis making case for ASG nod

ST. PETERSBURG -- Does Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis, who is batting .300 this season, deserve a nod for the All-Star Game?

"Oh sure, you kidding?" manager Buck Showalter said of Markakis, who is tied for tops in MLB with 28 multi-hit games and ranks 10th among American League outfielders in All-Star voting. "I am biased. I'm not sure who the other eight [outfielders along with teammate Adam Jones] are."

Markakis passed Ken Singleton for sixth place on the Orioles' all-time hit list on Monday, and he now has 1,459. Next up is Boog Powell, who ranks fifth with 1,574.

"He doesn't have an ego hitting," Showalter said. "He's going to seek his level. He's not going to equate his year with how many home runs he hits or, it's like, 'Hey Nicky, I need you to hit third, I need you to be a four-hole hitter'. He wouldn't change anything wherever you put him. He's figured out who he is and what he's capable of doing."

Markakis, the longest-tenured active Oriole, has never been named an All-Star. The Gold Glove winner has a career .293 batting average, which ranks fourth in O's history.