The rosters for Major League Baseball’s annual All-Star Game were released last weekend, and as always, they raised some eyebrows and provoked some intense head scratching.
Some mistakes were the fault of the fans (Pablo Sandoval over David Wright), some were the fault of the players (Bryan LaHair over anybody) and some were the fault of the coaches (no Josh Reddick or James McDonald).
I actually feel pretty good about the overall rosters this year, but there are still things to complain about, so let the complaining begin.
Let’s start with the American League.
The fans are given the responsibility to vote in the starters, and for the most part, they did a good job.
They didn’t choose only Yankees and Red Sox players as they have in the past and those they did choose deserved their selections.
The fans did screw up one position though – catcher. They chose Mike Napoli, who is hitting a lowly .235 with 12 home runs and 30 RBI over Matt Weiters and Joe Mauer, both of whom are better defensively and are having better years at the plate.
Fortunately, Weiters and Mauer were both added by the players and coaches, who fill out the rosters after the fan voting concludes.
The coaches and players messed up a few picks of their own though. American League Manager Ron Washington elected to pick relief pitcher Ryan Cook as the Oakland A’s representative over outfielder Josh Reddick.
Cook has the statistics worthy of the All-Star game (1.54 ERA, 7 saves, 37 strikeouts in 35 innings), but his impact on the A’s has been miniscule compared to Reddick’s.
Reddick leads the A’s in all major offensive categories, including batting average, home runs, RBIs and runs.
How is that not enough to be your team’s representative at the All-Star Game?
Next, we have the National League.
The biggest mistake by the fans this year was voting in the San Francisco Giants’ infielder Pablo Sandoval (.300 BA with 6 home runs and 25 RBI) over the New York Mets’ David Wright (.354 BA with 9 home runs and 50 RBI) at third base.
How the Bay Area market overpowered New York and the rest of the nation is beyond me, but it happened, and now the National League is stuck with a guy nicknamed “Kung Fu Panda” at third base?
There were also some surprising omissions on the pitching staff, namely Milwaukee Brewers’ ace Zack Greinke, the Cincinnati Reds’
Johnny Cueto (4th in the NL in ERA) and James McDonald, who has been a major part of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ turnaround. Any of those three players would be more valuable to the team than Chicago Cubs first baseman/platoon player Bryan LaHair or the St. Louis Cardinals’ April ace, Lance Lynn.
It’s not going to be long before bickering about the All-Star Game rosters completely disappears, but for now, it is alive and well. With the mistakes made this year, it’s easy to see why.
Jason Clark is a junior journalism student and the sports editor for the Daily 49er.