In Major League Baseball, fans, players, and managers have the ultimate say in who plays in Baseball’s Midsummer Classic. Unfortunately, the fans are oftentimes ignorant and vote for random players based on absurd characteristics.
For example, I recently asked a female peer about her pick for AL starting Shortstop, in which she chose Derek Jeter instead of Michael Young. I inquired about this, and her response was, “Derek is so hot.” I countered and said that Derek Jeter was ranked 29th out of 30 in range, he is batting .282, and Michael Young outperforms Derek Jeter. There is no match. The best shortstop in the American League this season is Michael Young. She said, “Oh, I don’t care. He’ll marry me when he retires and I get older.” I said to her, “Well, if A-Rod hooks up with Madonna, then anything can happen. Good luck.” (It might be important to add that she submitted her vote multiple times, and this is rigging the All-Star voting system because many people are doing this.)
The players often vote for the first person whose name is yelled out in their clubhouse. They would vote for their friends and refrain from voting for rivals or unknown players. Managers have very little say in this process, yet, they seem to be the only ones that care about the All-Star selection process. In total, the fans pick approximately 10-11 players, the players themselves choose approximately 15-16 players, and the manager fills out the rest of the roster.
My thoughts on the selection process are relatively simple- it is useless. They should have the people that care vote for the All-Stars (baseball writers, announcers, executives) and base voting off of statistics and value. The same writers that vote for the Hall of Fame should be the ones who have the ultimate say in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Voting.