Tony Gwynn Sr. died a year ago today and there still lingers a hole of sadness in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.

All right, let’s take a step back from this Royals-related hysteria and give an honest to look at the Esurance All-Star Game Ballot. Let’s go through each position in each league and attempt to identify the most clearly deserving candidates for your clicks, based primarily on 2015 output.

Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson, who ran down three line drives earlier in the game to save runs, saved the game for the Dodgers with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning by outrunning Justin Upton’s drive to dead center.

Sonny Gray was in command as usual Sunday afternoon, holding down the Angels’ offense for 7 2/3 innings as the A’s avoided a sweep in Anaheim with an 8-1 win. Gray lowered his ERA to a Major League-leading 1.60 — passing the Pirates’ Gerrit Cole — after allowing just one unearned run on five hits and striking out nine.

John Ryan Murphy delivered a go-ahead two-run double off Brian Matusz in the fifth inning and the Yankees held on for a 5-3 victory over the Orioles on Sunday afternoon, salvaging the final game of a weekend series at Camden Yards.

Evan Gattis tied his career high with a four-hit afternoon and Houston pounded out 14 hits as a team, while rookie Lance McCullers tossed five hitless innings in his sixth Major League start to propel the Astros to a 13-0 win in the rubber match on Sunday against Roenis Elias and Seattle.

Miguel Cabrera beat Indians pitching again, allowing Alfredo Simon to beat Cleveland for the third time this season and allowing the Tigers to take the rubber match of the three-game series with an 8-1 win Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park.

The surging Blue Jays did it again on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, overpowering the Red Sox for a 13-5 victory that ran their winning streak to 11 games.

Rangers left fielder Delino DeShields left Sunday’s game against the Twins in the sixth inning with a left hamstring injury.

It was a battle from the first pitch for Lance McCullers. His overpowering arsenal just wasn’t working, and catcher Hank Conger graded the rookie’s stuff at a B or a C. But that didn’t matter, as McCullers threw five hitless innings in Sunday afternoon’s 13-0 victory over Seattle.

In a weekend low on positives for the Red Sox, David Ortiz’s power surge stood out as the silver lining to Toronto’s three-game sweep following Sunday’s 13-5 rout at Fenway Park.

Not many Major League pitchers experience throwing late into what could be a perfect game. Even less are left with nine outs and a few inches from perfection. But Nationals starter Max Scherzer found himself there Sunday in Washington’s 4-0 win over the Brewers.

Victor Martinez hasn’t batted leadoff in a Major League game since 2002, but the Tigers’ designated hitter got some experience at the top of the lineup on Sunday afternoon during a rehab appearance with Triple-A Toledo.

Every player remembers his first Major League hit. In shortstop Francisco Lindor’s case, all of his Cleveland teammates will remember his, too.

Top prospect Byron Buxton scored the game-winning run in the ninth inning as the Twins beat the Rangers, 4-3, in his big league debut on Sunday.

Jacoby Ellsbury has revealed the expected timetable for a return from his right knee sprain, and the Yankees outfielder is hopeful that he will be able to beat it.

In the end, there was no perfect game for the Nationals’ Max Scherzer and there was no no-hitter, either. But there still was greatness.