Putting to rest the “All Star snub” myth
Boston-based commentary with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer
J ROSE
Every year around this time, Major League Baseball announces the lineup of players who were ELECTED BY THE FANS to the All Star Game, the prestigious Mid Summer Classic that is nothing but a glorified exhibition game with better TV ratings.
And every year around this time, shortly after the announcements, every Jayson, Buster and Boomer get on their soapboxes and decry the injustices of the players who were snubbed by the voters, those who are having excellent statistical first halves, yet somehow managed to sneak by the discerning eye of the paying public.
And it’s around this time that I scratch my head and think to myself THE PLAYERS ARE ELECTED BY 12-YEAR-OLDS, COMPUTER GEEKS AND CASUAL FANS WHO THINK FILLING OUT THE BALLOT IS COOL AND FUN!! IT’S A POPULARITY CONTEST, NOT A TEST TO SEE IF YOU KNOW WHICH AL SECOND BASEMAN HAS THE BEST ON BASE PERCENTAGE OR WHICH NL OUTFIELDER HAS THE HIGHEST OPS!! GET OVER IT, A-HOLES, AND COME BACK TO REALITY!!
Okay, I feel better now.
But seriously, how can anyone get upset that certain players were “snubbed” when the selection process is one step above that of “American Idol”? If MLB wanted the best, most deserving players to be chosen for the honor of representing their league in the ASG, they would allow only baseball writers, former and current players and coaches to participate in the voting.
Instead the time honored tradition of allowing fans to vote has caused more undeserving players to be chosen than Angelina Jolie has kids, and until the whole format is revamped, these injustices will continue to rile up baseball purists everywhere.
When the game was a meaningless mid-season exhibition contest for the first seven+ decades of its existence, the selection method was foolproof, because it got the fans more involved in the sport.
The problem with this process now is that in 2003 commissioner Bud Selig decided to award home field advantage in the World Series to the league that prevailed in the game, often leaving that important distinction in the hands of lower-tier players who have been put in the game long after the superstar starters have hit the clubhouse.
Plus the archaic idea of having at least one player from each team be represented, which has always been a source of consternation for the fans and purists alike, only serves to water down the quality of the competition and eliminate another, more deserving player.
So what should Major League Baseball do to correct the problems associated with the best All Star game of the top four sports? Glad you asked:
1. Continue to allow fan voting, but don’t make that the deciding factor on who should start
Combine the fan votes with player/coach votes and select the starters based on that criteria
2. Eliminate the “one player form each team” rule
C’mon, let’s get with the new millennium. The Royals and Pirates haven’t had a true all star for decades, yet they continue to send a Tom Gorzelanny or Ken Harvey every year.
3.Don’t tie in the winner to the World Series
This one’s pretty obvious, Bud. If the game is an exhibition, you can’t allow the winner to earn home field advantage for the Fall Classic. In other words, you can’t have it both ways. Basically you are allowing the fans to have some say as to which team gets the biggest competitive advantage in the greatest championship in all of sports. Unfathomable.
Barring any significant changes, the All Star game will continue to be what it is: a meaningless contest that serves as a mid-season break for the players and a fun-filled escape from the stat hording and tense pennant races for the fans.
So please, until things change, shelve the term “snub”.
Because you can’t be snubbed for an honor that has no real meaning.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Wow J. That may have been the best article you’ve ever written here. And I’ve seen you contribute some great stuff. Plus, I agree with you 100%! Fans should have a say (as you noted) but it should be a portion. Thank goodness sake that Griffey Jr. got leapfrogged by Braun at the last second. Griffey didn’t deserve to go. And the international players always gets voted in. See Ichiro and Fukuodome amongst others. The point being, it’s a popularity contest. I liked when home field rotated each year. Do that, or go by the team with the best record. Or… better yet, if you want the two leagues facing each other to have an impact, take the INTERLEAGUE record of the two leagues, and the league that fared better should get home field. Come to think of it, that’s brilliant.
Thanks for the love, Scott.
Great point about the IL records determining the HFA for the Series. I had heard that mentioned before but didn’t even think of it for my piece.
Unfortunately it makes too much sense, so Selig will never approve of it!
Haha, very good point… lol
Fans can’t have it both ways, though. They can’t complain if the game ends in a tie then complain again when the winner decides home field advantage.
Fans can do whatever they want. lol, that makes them fans. Because even if they know better, it doesn’t mean they’ll always say the right things!
Ryan Howard is hands down the biggest snub this year. How often have a league’s leading HR hitter (tied with Utley) and RBI leader (by 8 over the next highest) not made the All-Star team? Yes, he strikes out at a prodigious rate and has a low average, but he has a high average with men on base (.330), and he’s an RBI machine. If he ever reduces his strikeouts he’ll threaten Hack Wilson’s season RBI mark.
In the 3 hours since I wrote my comment about Ryan Howard, he’s hit 2 more HR’s and logged 3 more RBI’s!! The man is scary great! It’ll be a joke if he’s not put on the All-Star team.
am,
With all due respect, Howard is in no way the biggest snub unless you’re talking about the Fantasy Baseball All Stars.
With 123 strikeouts in 93 games, he’s on pace to shatter the all time K record of 199. Plus he’s batting average is lower than that of a scrub infielder. He’s this generation’s Dave Kingman or Rob Deer, an occasional All Star but by no means deserving of the honor every year.
Now the home run derby, that’s another story. He should be candidate #1 in that competition.
Not to mention if you read the piece there is no such thing as being snubbed in a popularity contest.
True, but if you look at popularity contests, the players who make the biggest blasts are supposed to win, and most casual fans vote based on homers and RBIs and wouldn’t care (or even know) how many strikeouts Howard has.
Good point, Mitch. But I guess Howard doesn’t have enough fans like am to win the popularity contest, or he would be in the game.
J. Rose, thanks for the reasoned reply. If I may respond–
1. Keeping Howard off because of his strikeouts is like saying the receiver with the most touchdowns should not go the the Pro Bowl because he had a lot of drops. The point is, RBI’s do not lie. The fact that Howard has the most RBI’s (by far) means that, of all hitters in the NL, he has been THE BEST at producing runs for his team. And isn’t that what winning games is about?
2. If you look at the RBI’s of Kingman and Deer, your analogy to Howard breaks down. Deer’s career high was 86, a total almost reached by Howard already this year. and Kingman had just 2 100+ seasons, with a high of 118. Howard is on pace to have about 140-150, a leval he’s reached in each of his first two full years.
3. Yes, his strikeout totals are breathtaking and he’s a below average fielder. But his early career HR’s and RBI’s are unmatched in the history of baseball. And he’s streoid-free (I hope)! Thanks for the dialogue.
am,
You bring up some very valid points, and I partially agree with you.
But my point is, the fans vote for the players they want to see, and evidently not enough fans such as yourself felt like they wanted to see a massive, one dimensional slugger occupy the spot at first base for the NL.
It’s especially tough for him to make it when his competition is Pujols and Berkman, who is having an MVP-caliber season.
Good debate, though. Keep up the comments.