A lot of pundits and fans have been alternately making fun of and expressing outrage over the MLB All-Star voting mechanism that had members of the Kansas City Royals ranking first for eight of nine position players (including the DH, which has no “position” other than in the batting order). It’s currently down to only seven since the Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera has passed the Royals’ Eric Hosmer at first base. The only other player outside KC is LA Angels outfielder Mike Trout.
Tyler Kepner wrote about the sorry state of affairs in today’s New York Times. All lot of commentators focus on the inclusion of second baseman Omar Infante, who is having the worst season in his 14-year career.
It is one thing for fans of a team to be excited about their players and want to see them in the starting lineup. But even the most ardent Royals fans must know that Infante has been dreadful this season.
Kepner writes
Infante had a .229 average with no home runs or stolen bases through Sunday. His on-base plus slugging percentage was .549. Only two players — Philadelphia’s Chase Utley and the Chicago White Sox’ Alexei Ramirez — had a lower O.P.S.
The folks at MLB are dealing with a mixed blessing: on the one hand, they have received 420 million total votes, the highest in the history of the current electoral system. It helps that each voter can cast his or her ballot up to 35 times. It hurts that those under 13 are ineligible to participate in the process.
The ASG — which will be played on July 14 in Cincinnati — has frequently been considered a popularity contest rather than something a player earns through hard work and productivity.
From Kepner
[MLB Commissioner Rob] Bowman would not address specific players, but he did say that baseball had been vigorous about detecting fraudulent email addresses. Bowman said about 20 percent of all ballots cast had been rejected. That figure, he said, is consistent with previous seasons.
If my math is correct — no guarantees — 20 percent is more than 80 million votes thrown out. That’s a chunk of change.
Great for Royals fans. Stinks for everyone else.
is available on Amazon.com,
Comments on this entry are closed.