MLB All-Stars and All-Star Voting: Who should decide?

The 83^rd All-Star game is July 10, 2012, 7:30pm EST in Kansas City at Kaufman Stadium. And just like every year, as I recall, there are debates, arguments and theories regarding the best way to determine all-star players. Currently, it’s a popularity contest, where fans of the game, vote for their favorite players. They can vote up to 25 times.

There has been some controversy this year regarding the All-Star game. Apparently there are some individual’s that believe Tony LaRussa intentionally snubbed some players with the Reds and Brewer’s. The players I saw mentioned were Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips. Apparently, it’s believed Tony is still holding a grudge from the Cardinals-Red brawl that took place a couple years ago. Well, frankly, I don’t think Tony would do such a thing. I can’t say I would be so professional if I were in his shoes and I wouldn’t blame him if he did carry a grudge. But, people are people and when you deal with people, whether it is professional or amateur, the human element called, emotion can be a factor.

I have no problem with picking the starters, based on fan votes. It’s the selection of the other players; I have a problem with in the current system. I don’t think the National and American league All-Star managers, should pick the remaining eight players. And I don’t think it’s necessary to have one player from every team.

Here’s a suggestion; leave the method for picking the starting nine the same. The fans should have the opportunity to vote for their favorite players. But for the remaining position players, including pitchers, they should be chosen with a point system. This point system should include fan votes and their current offensive and defensive stats. The fan votes should make up the majority of the points; then equal weight to hitting and fielding. This would eliminate the human factor in choosing baseball all-

One more change I would make involves the scheduling for the All-Star game. In Freddie’s world, the MLB All-Star game is after spring training. The regular season could then start a few days later. For example, have the All-Star Game on a Tues night and then the regular season start the same week, on Friday. This schedule change would most likely eliminate the pitching problem; whereas a pitcher may not perform in an All-Star game due to a scheduled start or they may have pitched recently. Since the All-Star game is starting before the regular season, there is less likely a problem with disrupting a manager’s pitching rotation.

So, here’s the bottom line; I think if you have the All-Star game earlier in the season rather than later, the players may be more willing to participate and pitching rotations won’t be disrupted. The fans should still be able to vote for the starters. But, to eliminate the human element; use a point system instead. I think we would have better All-Star games and we truly would have the best players opposing each other. Thanks for reading.