All-star Voting

[yanks12025]

I was wondering if anyone else has seen the all-star voting standings so far. I cant agree with the way people vote. Jason varitek is leading the AL for catcher(now thats bad hes batting .275). Guerrero is third in outfielder and hes batting .262. Matsui or Bobby Abreu should be up in the top 3, or Matsui should be the DH. Yeah all david ortiz is doing is driving in runs but he still has a .247 batting average. I know theres still a lot of time left to vote but this just blows my mind away. What do you guys think.

[metsbats]

The All Star voting is never going to be fair as long as the fans are doing the voting. The teams with the large markets and followings (ie Red Sox Yankees, Mets) have larger fan bases voting. It's all a big popularity contest where fans want to see the big names whether they are having a great year or not. The voting is never going to be fair until the voting is taken out of the hands of the fan and players are voted by their peers or managers who will judge a player by their current performance and not their name or past laurels.

David

[Master Shake]

All-Star voting needs to be taken out of the fans hands and put into hands of sports writers or managers. Its too much of a joke right now.

[frikativ54]

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. All-star voting is an absolute joke, and has been for years. I think that's why excellent players like Jeff Bagwell (and Rafael Palmeiro - before the 'roids talk) constantly got snubbed; the average fan will go for a one-dimensional player who knocks homers like Mark McGwire over a more-complete package who is a bit less exciting.

[skipcarayislegend]

Fan voting is a mess. Count on a Yankees/Red Sox love fest this year especially with the game being at Yankee Stadium. I believe ESPN's already called it the most exciting game ever played in the history of sports.

[shoremen44]

While I agree that the voting is a mess and there are snubs every year, I happen to like being able to vote for the all stars. It is something I remeber doing as a kid, taking the cards at the ballpark and punching out the little holes.

I vote now for the players who deserve it, but I am sure as a kid I probably voted for the entire Orioles roster.

Baseball is about tradition, and fans voting for the all stars is one that I think needs to stay.

my 2 cents

[gingi79]

Fans are going to vote for their favorite players not the ones who are the best. The argument is that this game is "for the fans" and I can appreciate the fact we want to see our favorite players but you cannot have it both ways.

If we are going to call them "All Stars" and use appearances as fodder for why we should induct players to the HOF (i.e. He played in x number of All Star games) then they should be sent by impartial means. The top 2 players at every position statistically should automatically get the bid. Case in point:

Chipper Jones is the best offensive player in the majors right now. He leads the NL Third Base balloting right now. Good job fans! Carlos Beltran is 4th in OF balloting. He has a .257 b/a. He has 4 HRs No one fears his arm in CF. And if wasnt for Fukudome being a new media darling, Beltran would be STARTING IN THIS YEARS ALL STAR GAME.

Since the game now decides Home Field in the WS, shouldn't the best players get the honor, not the over-rated over-paid "stars"?

[cjclong]

I certainly understand the argument that the best players don't always get voted in. However, the players do get a vote and if the players vote for a player at a position who hasn't gotten the most votes from the fans then the player getting the players votes is added to the team. So the tteam is made up of players who are recognized by their peers as well as the fans.The All Star game is as it is now is made up of the players the majority of the voting fans want to see. The is no question that in his final season Cal Ripken wasn't the premier third baseman in the American league. But he was the one the fans wanted to see and most of us remember the home run he hit in his last All Star game. I doubt if we remember today who was statistically the best third baseman that year but we remember the Ripken home run. No selection system is perfect and completely fair, and since that's the case, letting the fans vote for who they want seems as good a way as any.

[geoff]

Nick Markakis is number 11 on the Outfielders ballots at this time I heard during Sundays Game.That is just wrong.

[yanks12025]

David Ortiz should be pulled from DH.