Who's your All Star?

It's coming up on mid season 2019 and the all star game is approaching. This year MLB changed up how all star voting works, trying some new things to see if they can increase fan participation in the mid-year classic while also trying to appease some of die hard naysayers who think the popular vote sends the wrong players. As usual we have to listen to the complaints about how the all star roster is never perfect and someone is getting jipped.

Since the start of the baseball all star game the selection of rosters has been an on again off again contentious issue. Fan votes, manager selections, player votes, round and round it has gone. The change this year to the fan vote is to include a second round, taking the highest three vote-getters at each position and then do a final lightning round of voting to select the starters. Time will tell I suppose but I like the update so far. I think it's going to add more suspense, keep the fans engaged up to the end, and also give some room for fans to respond in the final round to how the vote totals have played out. The complaint I hear most often is that pure statistics should determine the roster, that fans just vote for their favorites regardless of how the season is going, and the players having the best statistical year don't always get picked.

Well guess what folks, I think the all-star game is for stars. Fan voting goes all the way back to the first all-star game. It's a showcase of the league's most popular players all in one place for the fans. It's natural for performance on the field to inspire fandom so how far off could the fans really be? I've never heard of a fan who had a favorite player because they struck out the most or were the worst player on the team. Fans vote for good players, and that's why I like the top three rule this year. If a player isn't one of the top three vote-getters at their position, then they probably aren't a clear statistical best. Case in point is Anthony Rendon, who at the time of writing is in 5th place in voting among NL third basemen. Are there players above him in voting that aren't quite as good this year, sure, and guess what, there are also players below him in voting that might be a little better. I think the positioning has more to do with the perceived impact on the team than the pure stats themselves and that's just part of the game.

So maybe the fans don't get it perfect for everyone all the time, that's because they're fans, and they are picking their favorites. Not every fan of the game is a statistics major and they shouldn't have to be. What's wrong with watching the game, rooting for your team, and voting for your favorite players? The idea that fans in one city will disagree with the voting of fans in another city shouldn't surprise anyone.