As a Yankee fan I was amused to see the first All-Star voting update released by MLB.com yesterday. As a baseball fan there was nothing amusing about it.
Although there are still many votes to be cast until baseball's "best" gather in Phoenix on July 12 for the 2011 All-Star Game, the American League starting lineup would, based on current votes tabulated, feature six Yankees, including the entire infield. Perhaps the time has come to change the way the voting is conducted?
Under the current system, voting takes place online and at the ballpark. As a result, players on teams with poor attendance often suffer, despite their individual performance. Also, aging stars well past their prime are still being voted to the team based on a compilation of their work.
I understand that there will always be deserving players who get snubbed, much like "bubble teams" come selection Sunday in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. But that is due, in part, to the restrictions created by MLB itself, like requiring that every club have at least one representative on the All-Star roster, or position scarcity versus position abundance (much like when drafting your fantasy team). In the American League, for example, there are several All-Star caliber first basemen this season and, since not all can make the team, a Mitch Moreland might be left off the roster.
Humor me for a moment, and let us take a closer look at the numbers. As of yesterday, when the voting results were announced, there were 33 players with enough at-bats to qualify as a league leader that were hitting over .300. Twenty-one of them would not be participating in the game. That's more than two-thirds of the best hitters this season sitting out.
Matt Joyce perfectly illustrates my point (and, I must admit I was so wrong about him). Joyce is hitting over .360 with nine home runs and 30 RBI, but is not even among the top 15 outfielders in the voting. Even more confusing is that I can't credit his poor showing to a lack of local fan support, as fellow Rays outfielders Sam Fuld and B.J. Upton both make that list.
The National League voting is no better. Jose Reyes, who has the advantage from a fan voting perspective of playing in New York, is third in shortstop voting behind Troy Tulowitzki and Jimmy Rollins. Tulowitzki, hitting only .250, has more votes than Rollins and Reyes combined. Meanwhile, Reyes is batting .335 and is tied for the league lead in hits with 76. His 19 stolen bases ranks him second, and he is among the league leaders in runs, doubles and triples.
On the subject of shortstops, there is no way that Derek Jeter, who is hitting .264 with 2 home runs, should be ahead of more deserving players like Asdrubal Cabrera. Cabrera is batting .296 with 10 home runs, 36 RBI and seven stolen bases. It is obvious that Jeter is benefiting from a vote that has turned into a popularity contest, rather than an assessment of current performance. I'm starting to have flashbacks to High School, but I digress.
Truthfully, I am at a loss for how to fix this system. Sports writers and managers are human, just like the fans, and are bound to make decisions based on their own biases. Create some convoluted mathematical formula, ala the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which selects players solely on statistics? I don't think so. I am curious if any of you have suggestions that might produce voting results more representative of an All-Star game. Otherwise, at the very least, maybe MLB should consider renaming game to something more appropriate. How does "Prom Queen Classic" sound?