MLB All-Star voting is a shameful sham
Kevin and I got into a heated discussion about the nature of MLB All-Star voting last week after learning that Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez was currently 6th in voting among National League outfielders. We agree that this is a travesty as Ibanez has incredible numbers in several statistical categories, but the nature of the voting system just seems to lend itself entirely to this kind of injustice.
Ibanez’s ranking may have to do with his transition from the American to National Leagues, but this hardly seems to hurt big name players who seem to get a free trip to the All-Star game every year, even when they aren’t actively playing (I’m looking squarely at you Manny Ramirez).
It generally seems like current season numbers are largely ignored. Part of this is due to the fact that voters at the ballpark have no practical access to stats while voting. It’s interesting to note that neither Jimmy Rollins or Ryan Howard went in their MVP years as starters. Also, the Phillies were on the road until this past weekend, so it should be interesting to see if any of the rankings change once the team returns home and local fans can vote at the park.
Voting ends Thursday July 2nd, 2009.
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Brendan said,
Ibanez is #2 and Manny is #5 now… but yeah i agree… i also think Pedro Feliz deserves to make the team as well as Ruiz… both are hitting over .300 and Feliz has 27 RBI’s also he is probably the best defensive 3B in the National league. Victorino also should be given some consideration but it wouldnt bother me if he didnt make it.
kevinmld said,
So basically Brendan’s arguing the whole Phillies team should be allstars. Who are they? The Yankees?
But he’s right.
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20090602_All-Star_votes_piling_up_for_Ibanez.html
I think clearly MLD can take credit for single handedly changing the world.