Okay, I’ve held out long enough. It’s time for an OTW Public
Service Announcement. And yes, this is primarily directed at you, Royals fans.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that eight –
yes, EIGHT – members of the Kansas City Royals are on track to start the
All-Star Game for the American League. So far only Michael Nelson Trout has
been fortunate enough to escape their maniacal fandom.
This year’s voting highlights the problem of blanket votes
for one’s team of choice (#VoteOrange, anyone?). I’m a HUGE Orioles fan but by
no means do I want to see Ryan Flaherty starting the All-Star Game over the
likes of Robinson Cano, Jose Altuve or Jason Kipnis.
I understand voting is fun and everyone wants to support
their team, but the ASG isn’t about supporting your team or creating a popularity contest. It’s meant to be a showcase of baseball’s best players in
that particular season. And as much as I love Omar Infante…well, just no.
So what’s to be done? The sad fact is that this irresponsible voting
of fans who only want to support their players (yes, I said irresponsible) has
led to the current debacle. If nothing changes this year, and all these Royals
players are in the starting lineup in Cincinnati on July 14, we’re facing the
serious possibility of all fans losing their voting privileges.
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| Kansas City Royals fans are certainly making their voices heard. But is it good for baseball? |
There is debate every year over whether or not fans should
keep the vote or not and it’s clear that they cannot be counted on to pick the
most deserving players on their own.
So how can the system be fixed? Luckily I’m here to help
you, MLB. Follow these easy steps and the ASG will be the event it’s intended
to be.
1)
Stop releasing the ballot in April/early May.
There’s no way to tell that early who the season’s stars are yet. All you’re
doing is promoting this “vote for everyone on my team!” mentality. Wait until
June 1 to release the ballot.
2)
Release a ballot with the 5 best players at each
position. This way fans still get to select the starters, but we’re guaranteed
to get starters who are at very least marginally deserving. (Amendment: if you opt to keep the current system, give
managers or the commissioner the right to veto any player they deem undeserving
of an ASG start)
3)
Untie the ASG from home field advantage in the
World Series. The ASG is an exhibition; a showcase. Who cares if it ends in a
tie? Fans in Milwaukee saw 11 innings of high caliber baseball and complained
because there was no final result, which landed us here. Yes, seeing a winner
is nice, but that’s not the purpose of the ASG. The purpose is to see all the
stars from across the league together in one game. If the teams happen to tie, that
just means the leagues are balanced that year. Who cares? Making it competitive has actually taken some of the fun out of it and caused managers to use their players in a way that doesn't always allow fans to fully appreciate the appearance of their team's players.
Beyond that, the only real solution is to take the vote away
from fans. If that doesn’t bother you, by all means, use your last weeks of privilege
to vote for undeserving players just because of the uniform they happen to
wear.
Me? I’ll be voting for the players who have put up the best
numbers so far this season; the players the ASG was meant to feature.
--Christopher Mills, @cjmills82
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