The 2015 MLB All-Star game is once again behind us and the first year of exclusively online voting was an unmitigated disaster as several “starters” were, in my opinion, far from worthy. (I may or may not be looking at you Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain)
So before I unveil the lineups I think most reflect the truest all stars, let me just say I did not vote once I saw the joke it had become with almost 75% of the lineup was Kansas City Royals.
That said, here’s how I would have voted.
National League:
C- Buster Poser - No surprise here. More walks than strikeouts in the first half (34/30 BB/K), 14 HR 14 2B, .880 OPS. Absolutely stellar first half.
1B - Paul Goldschmidt - You can’t go wrong with Anthony Rizzo or Joey Votto either, but to me Goldy was probably the MVP of the league in the first half and it’s hard not to give him the nod at first base.
2B - I would have gone Joe Panik (right). D.J. LeMahiue has had a tremendous first half, but Panik strikes out far less and his overall power numbers (7 HR, 21 two baggers, .820 OPS) are better than LeMahiue’s (4 HR, 11 2B, .762 OPS). In fact, injury aside, I probably would have gone Dee Gordon ahead of LaMahiue.
3B - Todd Frazier - Only because the game is in Cincinnati and I know what it’s like to watch and All-Star game and have your hometown boy in the lineup and recognized as one of the league’s best (which he is). Any other year, any other location, I vote Nolan Arenado, who had a huge first half. Him and Frazier’s numbers are almost identical. It would have been a tough vote.
SS - Jhonny Peralta - If it wasn’t for the eight games played difference between Troy Tulowitzki and Peralta, I’d take TuLo, but Peralta has been healthy, productive and is having an absolutely tremendous year. Unlike years past, it really feels like play at the shortstop position in the National League is really dropping off.
OF -To me OF was a four horse race between McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper and Joc Pederson. How Matt Holiday got into the starting lineup is beyond me but my top 3 OF would have been Stanton, Harper and McCutchen in that order.
American League:
C - Stephen Vogt (officials uniform right) - Because there was a Royals player on the ballot, Sal Perez got the start but I thought Vogt was more deserving. I love Sal, he’s my boy, he is probably the most complete catcher the league has besides Posey and Molina, but statistically, Vogt should have been the guy.
1B - Miguel Cabrera - I don’t think there’s any question about this one. Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder are having great years’ but in my opinion, Cabrera is having the best year of them all.
2B - Jason Kipnis - Look, Jose Altuve is a great player and having a decent year, but the fact fans didn’t recognize what Kipnis is doing is an utter disgrace. .323/.401/.487 slash line, 3rd in the league in hits, tied for the league lead with 27 doubles, top 10 OBP. Sorry but Kipnis’ absence from the starting lineup was a disgrace and anyone who didn’t vote for him should be ashamed of themselves, especially if they were voting for Omar Infante (who had one point was in line to start)
3B - Manny Machado - You’re splitting hairs between Manny and Donaldson. Every line is all but identical. Personally I like Manny a lot but I won’t complain about Donaldson getting the nod. And in all reality, Manny being in at the end worked out because he got the big hit for the AL.
SS - Jose Iglesias - I thought Jose should have started from the getgo. Iglesias is having an unbelievable year but again, there was a Royal on the ballot so he got the nod in this spot.
OF - I would have gone Trout, JD Martinez and Nelson Cruz. A true outfield in the AL from left to right and three guys that deserved starts.
DH - Yoenis Cespedes - Would also liked to have seen him defend his derby title, especially in that park under that format.
Those are my lineups. I’m not going to go through the pitchers because that is awfully subjective and the way Ned Yost constructed his pitchers, he obviously had the end of the game in mind while Bruce Bochy wanted the most deserving pitchers on his team.
I think going forward, the league has to address the All Star voting process. Leaving this all up to biased individuals with unlimited access to voting is not the right way to do this.
I realize it is hard to police people and I'm not calling for baseball to do that.
Fans certainly should have their say, after all, the game is almost all about them, but players, managers and front office people should have a say as well.
There's enough formulas and people who sit around and do this all day, they should be able to come up with something. (if you don't believe me, look at the sabermetrics explosion in baseball)
I'd like to see about 80% of the fan vote count, maybe a 15% player vote and 5% manager/front office vote.
I realize players get the vote of the "bench" for each side, and that should remain in place. But I think something needs to be done to reform the balloting and decisions of the starters.
Again, I realize it is about the fans to a degree, but if you're going to give the game a weight such as deciding home field advantage in the World Series, then you need to have more people that impacts have a say.
If it's going to truly be an exhibition, then let the fans have 100% say in the matter.
I still have a hard time getting behind the All-Star game deciding home field advantage for the World Series. I’ve always believed, just like every other sport in America (other than football), if you finish with the best record in baseball, you should have home field advantage in the World Series.
But that’s just me.
In the next few days, I’ll follow up my three pitchers to watch in the second half with hitters to watch.
Also, check out my first half analysis for the American League and National League.
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