Okay, I just can’t help myself. A sports “opinionator” is powerless when it comes to an issue like MLB’s All-Star voting.
First, a few disclaimers. I’m a baseball purist, and I’m older than 25 (okay, significantly older). Those two things may, unfortunately, have become redundant, but as the kids say today, “it is what it is.”
Since the job of All-Star voting was returned to the fans in 1970, the annual listing of the players who were “snubbed” has become as big a part of the game as the list of the guys who get in. Teams have always campaigned for their players, and players who got lots of national TV exposure always had a big advantage.
Because of that history, it’s tempting to look at the results of this year’s selection process and simply say, “well, you can’t make everyone happy,” and leave it at that. Unfortunately, if you’re an “opinionator,:” you need to try to figure out a way to fix it. So here goes.
There are several challenges to fixing this system, not the least of which is that baseball itself has absolutely no interest in doing so. They’ve made several changes to the player selection process over the last few years, including adding much-needed roster spots, but none of these has gotten to the unfortunate root of the thing, which is that most fans are woefully unqualified to pick an All-Star team.
Oh, I can hear it now, all the wailing, “It’s the fans’ game!”
Hey, you know what? Not anymore. You see, one of those changes a few years ago was to take the home field advantage in the World Series and give it to the league that won the All-Star Game. To me, that means it’s no longer “the fans’ game.” It’s serious business, as any team which has led the World Series 3-2 and lost it in seven games will tell you. In fact, you may be surprised to know that 20 of the last 25 World Series were won by the team that played the first two games at home.
It’s ironic, isn’t it, that the very thing that the Commissioner of Baseball came up with to make the game more “meaningful” (meaning: interesting for top players to play hard in) also had the effect of taking the role of the fan out of the selection process. Well, except, it didn’t. In an incredible convolution of logic, the All-Star Game became hugely important in the pursuit of the Championship of the Sport, and yet the most important factor in the game, the selection of the players, was left in the hands of mechanics, schoolteachers, astronauts, six-year-olds and other, less-qualified people.
And here’s the best part! Baseball is thrilled! This year’s voting broke all records! People voted from their computers, from their phones, from kiosks at the ballpark! Early and often (25 votes at a time). This is not going away, folks. So, let’s get back to trying to fix it.
The concern amongst reasonable people is not that Pablo Sandoval won the starting NL 3rd base spot over David Wright. Sandoval doesn’t suck, and Wright is still on the team. No, the problem isn’t what happened out here in San Francisco, it’s what ALMOST happened.
Okay, I just can’t help myself. A sports “opinionator” is powerless when it comes to an issue like MLB’s All-Star voting.
First, a few disclaimers. I’m a baseball purist, and I’m older than 25 (okay, significantly older). Those two things may, unfortunately, have become redundant, but as the kids say today, “it is what it is.”
Since the job of All-Star voting was returned to the fans in 1970, the annual listing of the players who were “snubbed” has become as big a part of the game as the list of the guys who get in. Teams have always campaigned for their players, and players who got lots of national TV exposure always had a big advantage.
Because of that history, it’s tempting to look at the results of this year’s selection process and simply say, “well, you can’t make everyone happy,” and leave it at that. Unfortunately, if you’re an “opinionator,:” you need to try to figure out a way to fix it. So here goes.
There are several challenges to fixing this system, not the least of which is that baseball itself has absolutely no interest in doing so. They’ve made several changes to the player selection process over the last few years, including adding much-needed roster spots, but none of these has gotten to the unfortunate root of the thing, which is that most fans are woefully unqualified to pick an All-Star team.
Oh, I can hear it now, all the wailing, “It’s the fans’ game!”
Hey, you know what? Not anymore. You see, one of those changes a few years ago was to take the home field advantage in the World Series and give it to the league that won the All-Star Game. To me, that means it’s no longer “the fans’ game.” It’s serious business, as any team which has led the World Series 3-2 and lost it in seven games will tell you. In fact, you may be surprised to know that 20 of the last 25 World Series were won by the team that played the first two games at home.
It’s ironic, isn’t it, that the very thing that the Commissioner of Baseball came up with to make the game more “meaningful” (meaning: interesting for top players to play hard in) also had the effect of taking the role of the fan out of the selection process. Well, except, it didn’t. In an incredible convolution of logic, the All-Star Game became hugely important in the pursuit of the Championship of the Sport, and yet the most important factor in the game, the selection of the players, was left in the hands of mechanics, schoolteachers, astronauts, six-year-olds and other, less-qualified people.
And here’s the best part! Baseball is thrilled! This year’s voting broke all records! People voted from their computers, from their phones, from kiosks at the ballpark! Early and often (25 votes at a time). This is not going away, folks. So, let’s get back to trying to fix it.
The concern amongst reasonable people is not that Pablo Sandoval won the starting NL 3rd base spot over David Wright. Sandoval doesn’t suck, and Wright is still on the team. No, the problem isn’t what happened out here in San Francisco, it’s what ALMOST happened.
Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford, second-year Giants starters who each looked like they could get sent down to the minors at various points this season, both finished second at their positions in the All-Star voting. Crawford, whose glove is magnificent but is hitting under .240, missed getting the start by only 350,000 votes.
Aubrey Huff, who has 9 hits in 58 at-bats, finished 17th in the voting in the outfield. Freddy Sanchez, who has not spent one minute on the active roster this season, finished fourth in the balloting at second base. Both of them had over 1.9 million votes. Really!
This should scare MLB. Because of the World Series appearances in 2002 and 2010, the Giants have a very strong fan base in the 18-34 age group, and they are wired to the teeth. The fact that they’re not competent to vote for All-Star teams is not their fault. If you take someone who’s never driven a car and give them the keys, you bear some responsibility for what happens.
Okay, that’s the problem, what do you do to fix it? First of all, there has to be a way to remove people from the ballot if they haven’t played enough games. That would have taken care of not only Sanchez and Huff, but Sandoval. Pablo missed 35 of the team’s 80 games this season, and that alone should remove him from consideration for a starting spot.
Secondly, there could be a minimum performance standard for position players. Maybe a player needs to be in the top 10 in the league in any of the key offensive categories to be eligible to be voted on. This can’t be that difficult. I understand that there are still paper ballots that are printed way ahead of time, but any votes for ineligible players would simply not be counted. That would take care of the Belt and Crawford situations, which came very close to being very embarrassing for MLB.
Lastly, it’s time to recognize that things in the world have changed since 1970, and we need to let go of the rule requiring each team to have a representative in the game. It was a nice rule when it was first implemented, but again, now that the game counts, a manager has to make sure he’s got all the positions and pitcher spots covered. Ron Washington chose a rookie closer from the A’s, Ryan Cook, because he needed a relief pitcher. Cook’s been a nice surprise, but he has 7 career saves in 10 career opportunities. And he’s an All-Star? Over Josh Reddick? Really?
So there you have it. We keep fan voting, as ridiculous as the concept is, and just try to limit the damage. If they don’t do something, the Giants could have the whole starting eight next year. There’s no market that has the combination of sellout crowds, high TV ratings and internet penetration that the Giants enjoy, and they’re not afraid to use it.