It happens every year, and will continue to happen so long as fans continue to vote for their favorite players to represent their leagues in the midsummer classic. Ever since Connie Mack and John McGraw squared off against each other in the very first All-Star game way back in 1933, I'm sure there were a fair amount of deserving players left off the team and some contributors not quite fit to be called All-Star - although there were probably a lot less of these back then when the roster comprised only 18 players (compared to the modern era's 34) and because the managers selected the entire lineup until 1946 when fan voting was introduced.
Fan voting was actually banned in 1957 following an incident of fans from Cincinnati stuffing the ballot boxes and electing 7 reds to the starting lineup. The fans were once again allowed to decide the starters in 1970, and in the early part of the last decade - in the same rules-change that made the game decide which team got home field advantage in the World Series - the players and coaches were introduced to the process. Their ballots decide the reserves (a mirror of the starting lineup with one player at each position) and the pitching staff (five starters, three relievers). The managers then select their own players (in conjunction with the Commissioner's Office), insuring that at least one player from each team in the league is represented, further diluting the talent pool.
Everybody has their own opinions about who should play in the All-Star game; and apparently Giants, Rangers, and Yankees fans have more opinions than most, as evidenced by three members of each team on the starting squads, the majority of them (roughly 6 of the 9) elected over more qualified candidates. I'm somewhat of a purist, so I try to cast my votes for the most deserving players in the league rather than my favorites. I've given you all a rundown of my decision-making process, but now, thanks to real-time fantasy point calculation courtesy of ESPN.com, I have hard and fast evidence of the true (fantasy) value of the players selected to this year's All-Star teams - evidence which I present to you here:
Starter snubs are the easiest to judge because their picks are the only ones that are a direct result of fan voting. The reserves don't always reflect the players/coaches ballot because if they happen to elect the same player as the fan ballot, the second-place vote-getter is chosen. In my estimation, the most blatant fan snub is NL 3B David Wright - not because he scored the most points of anyone left off the team (OF snubs Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun [who will incidentally start for the injured Matt Kemp] had more) but because the player for whom he was passed over has the least points of any All-Star starter (only Chipper Jones, a last-minute replacement for Kemp, has fewer).
Wright currently is tied for the NL lead in WAR (along with well-deserved All-Star Joey Votto), in addition to serving as a team leader on the surprise-contender Mets. You'd think that such a high-profile player who plays in the country's largest media market would be able to drum up some more support. I can understand a player on a losing team like Carlos Ruiz (who currently leads the NL in batting) not getting too much attention from the fans, but to also be left off the player ballot? I shouldn't complain too much about that, though, because at the time I cast my votes I favored Yadier Molina, if only ever so slightly.
In the AL, Miguel Cabrera is a much more minor snub because Adrian Beltre has actually played a full season and played it quite well. I don't think I can object to Derek Jeter's election, even though Cabrera and Andrus have both played better, because Cap'n Jetes positively oozes star power. The catcher situation mirrors the NL, with the lowest scoring catcher elected by the fans, the middle scorer elected by the players, and the highest scorer selected by the manager.
As far as snubs left off the roster completely, the list has to start with Edwin Encarnacion, whose breakout season as a DH-who-can-field has to be worth more than Adam Dunn's K-filled bounceback season. Hunter Pence has had a better season than Jay Bruce, and Tony La Russa didn't even need to pick him to fill the Reds' quota since Aroldis Chapman was already elected by the players. And in the classic ignorance of defense, Brett Lawrie will not be making an appearance, because 3.4 of his AL-leading 4.8 WAR came with the glove.
For pitcher snubs, the NL is 100% culpable, with such heavy hitters as Madison Bumgarner (seemingly the only Giant left off the All-Star team), Johnny Cueto, Zack Greinke notably absent. Of the unexpected breakout talents, Lance Lynn and Chris Sale (AL) made it, but there's no sign of James McDonald or Chris Capuano, both of whom deserve some recognition for the expectations they've defied. Many of the AL's best pitchers were denied as well, but as one out of five of them have a chance to join the team via the Final Vote stunt, I'll leave them for now.
So when you watch the All-Star game next Tuesday, while you're marveling at the players on the field, remember to keep a spot in your hearts open for those who were deserving but were not so lucky to have their names up in lights this year. Your plight will probably not be remembered... but then again it's all just a big popularity contest.
No comments:
Post a Comment