All Star Whining

SPORTING GOODS

I enjoy watching the MLB All-Star game, and probably even more than that I like seeing who gets picked and who doesn't, both by the fans and the players and managers.

But my least favorite part of the process is the inevitable columns and radio rants from various know-it-alls who suggest that since the fans don't pick the "perfect team" every year, then they should lose the right to vote.

Today in the NY Times (no link since it's Times select), William Rhoden puts together a great example of such a column, using the genius who is Willie Randolph as his primary supporter.

I'm not really sure what the main gripe is (from either William or Willie), as there appear to be several: Fans stuff the ballots, players get rewarded for past performance, players don't get rewarded for past performance, and players get voted in even if they don't like their position.

The argument: Fans stuff the ballot boxes. (Jason Bay cited as the example)
The Pittsburgh Pirates, who are hosting the game this year, stink. They give their fans little to cheer for, but gave their fans an open plea to vote for Jason Bay. They were able to vote him in, with the help of knowledgable fans and even MLB.com writers (who talked up what a good season he was having). Jason Bay followed up his 30-20 season of last year (where he had an OPS of .960), by hitting 20 HRs so far this year while posting an OPS of .930. Last I checked, Ken Griffey, Jr. was the third NL outfielder by the voting. No explanation as to why Bay getting voted in is a problem.

The argument: It's a popularity contest, where players get rewarded for past performance. (No specific examples provided)
The argument: Players don't get rewarded for past performance (No specific examples provided)
I've lumped these together, as somehow the article makes both arguments. So either it is a problem that Manny Ramirez, Ichiro, Vlad Guerrero, David Ortiz, and A-Rod get voted in, OR it's a problem that David Wright, Jose Reyes, Chase Utley, and Jason Bay get in. I'm not sure which is more offensive to Mr. Rhoden, Mike Mussina, and Willie Randolph.

Yes, Joe Mauer probably deserved to make it over Ivan Rodriguez (and Mauer was picked as a reserve, as I'll note that fans only select 18 of the 60 or so All-Stars), but as Willie says "I think if you ... have been a perennial All-Star, even if you have somewhat of a slow start before the All-Star break, I think you should still make it if you are the best at the position." Pudge is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, is having the 3rd best season among catchers by Win Shares, so yeah I guess he should go. But Mike Mussina says "The [position players] earn their way maybe two years ago or three years ago." Hmm, I'm confused, the argument kind of goes both ways. Now I don't know which is better. But obviously, the way to solve that conundrum is by taking away the fan vote.

The argument: Players get voted in even if they don't like their position. (Willie's genius statements about why Alfonso Soriano shouldn't have been voted in).
Alfonso Soriano, he of the 24 home runs and 18 steals in a pitcher's park, "might be a second baseman next year when he's a free agent. That's why I don't think the fans should vote, because they don't really know." Get it fans? You're stupid, and Willie is smart, See, he doesn't want a guy who is on pace to hit 40 homers and steal 30 bases, because the guy will probably be a second baseman next year, and didn't even want to play the outfield back in spring training. "They don't know talent, they don't know who can really play." See, Willie knows talent, and apparently Soriano doesn't have it. Yes, Soriano, who is 4th in Win Shares of National Leaguers, has no talent and can't really play.

In the end, Rhoden decides that players and managers should pick the whole teams. Even though the one player and one manager he cites can't seem to agree on the standard for picking All-Stars, and even though the manager thinks that a player's positional prefences are more important than statistics, it's the fans who shouldn't be able to pick who they watch in their mid-season exhibition game. See, doesn't it make perfect sense?

Mark Loretta shouldn't have made it because there are too many Red Sox fans. Jason Bay shouldn't have made it because Pittsburgh wanted him to play. Pudge shouldn't make it because he is mostly making it on his past performance, but David Wright shouldn't make it because he hasn't been doing it year in and year out. And then Alfonso Soriano shouldn't make it because he doesn't love being a leftfielder.

The bottom line for all of these arguments, unfortunately, is that the author or radio host, or manager, or player who wants the fans to lose their right to vote, just wishes that they could pick the whole team. Until the day when the All-Star team is the 30 players that they wanted, the whole process is flawed. But hey, it gives them something to rant about every 4th of July weekend.

In closing though, I'll note that while this is an annual argument, the new wrinkle this year is brought to us by the Mets' manager. I'll just point out that Vegas would probably put good odds on Randolph being the manager of the NL All-Stars next year. Who knows, maybe his selections would be enough for writers to make the case that fans should vote for all of the players after all.