Could the Kansas City Royals and their fans break the All-Star voting system? Might the popularity of the defending American League champions and the enthusiasm of their supporters result in changes being made to how the teams are selected?
If current voting totals hold, seven Royals would be in the American League starting lineup. Salvador Perez leads the vote at catcher, Eric Hosmer is ahead at first base, Alcides Escobar is set to start at shortstop, Mike Moustakas would get the nod at third base, Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon would man two of the outfield spots, and Kendrys Morales is the front-runner for designated hitter.
With the exception of the DH vote, each of the Royals hold a significant lead over the runner-up at their respective positions. All-Star voting runs until July 2, so the balloting could change during the next three weeks. But as of right now, we’re looking at an AL All-Star squad of Kansas City Royals, Jose Altuve and Mike Trout.
As you might expect, that has quite a few baseball fans — besides the Royals faithful, obviously — pissed off. Seven players from the same team in the All-Star starting lineup? It’s absurd. It’s an outrage. But it’s… perfectly allowable under the current All-Star voting system and certainly a testament to the afterglow that Royals fans are still feeling after last season’s run to Game 7 of the World Series. Kansas City continuing that success this season, taking a first-place division lead while currently holding the best record in the AL, has further fueled that excitement.
On Tuesday, during my weekly appearance on a local radio show, I was surprised that both hosts advocated for taking the All-Star vote away from fans if this was going to be the result. I certainly get the argument that popular vote shouldn’t determine the rosters for a game that inexplicably decides home-field advantage in the World Series. Yet aren’t we talking about an exhibition game that exists solely as a showcase for baseball fans? Sure, there’s reward and recognition for the players chosen for the game, but most would surely rather get four days off in the middle of the season.
:KANSAS CITY, MO – MAY 19: Outfielders Alex Gordon #4, Lorenzo Cain #6, and Paulo Orlando #16 of the Kansas City Royals congratulate each other after the Royals defeated the Cincinnati Reds 3-0 to win the game at Kauffman Stadium on May 19, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Yes, the Royals leading seven positions in All-Star voting is excessive. But let’s take a closer look as to whether or not each of those players is entirely undeserving of an All-Star bid — even if it’s fan-driven.
Cain and Gordon are two of the most dynamic players in the league, are among the top 10 AL outfielders in WAR and starting in the All-Star Game would build upon the showcase both received in last year’s postseason. Cain is actually a fine pick for for the AL All-Star outfield. Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Bautista are probably better picks than Gordon, but he’s benefiting from his team’s success and popularity.
The real concern is that Alex Rios is currently fourth in AL outfield voting, which should make you shake your fist at Royals devotees, but he won’t jump into the top three and thus keep a more deserving player from winning a spot.
At catcher, Perez is a defensible selection. Stephen Vogt or Russell Martin should get the nod over him, and you could make an argument for Brian McCann as well. But Perez’s .282 average and nine home runs are second-highest among qualifying catchers, he’s thrown out 39 percent (14-of-36) of opposing basestealers and allowed only one passed ball this year.
Hosmer possibly starting over Miguel Cabrera at first base should trigger some uproar. While he’s having a strong season, batting .301/.376/.483, Cabrera surpasses him across the board. Plus, there is something to be said for starting the All-Star Game based on reputation and past achievements. He’s the best hitter in MLB and a two-time AL MVP. Also, he’s close enough to Hosmer in voting that a late surge should elect him as the rightful starter.
It’s not a vintage year for shortstops in the AL, so I don’t think much of a ruckus should be raised over Escobar getting the start there. And it will almost certainly happen, as he’s more than two million votes ahead of the Tigers’ Jose Iglesias. Iglesias is actually the better selection, batting .329/.379/.409 (but doesn’t yet have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title) and leads AL shortstops with +5 Defensive Runs Saved. The guy who’s getting screwed in the voting, unfortunately, is the Red Sox’s Xander Bogaerts, who’s not even in the top five.
:WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 03: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates after hitting a double in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 3, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Like Hosmer, Moustakas is off to a strong start, something he struggled with during his past couple of seasons. He would be a representative selection at third base, but there’s a player having a far better season who should get the nod instead. Josh Donaldson is having a MVP-caliber season, which has become the norm for him over the past three years. Moustakas and Donaldson are close in batting average and on-base percentage, but the Blue Jays third baseman blows him away in every other important category. He has three times as many home runs, twice the amount of walks, and a higher OPS by 120 percentage points. Moustakas is an elite fielder, but Donaldson isn’t far behind.
At designated hitter, this isn’t a complicated argument. Kendrys Morales is having a far better season than most expected, batting .292 with an .831 OPS, 18 doubles and 41 RBI. But Nelson Cruz leads the AL with 18 home runs, batting .326 with a .988 OPS, and is coming off a 40-homer season last year with the Orioles. Fortunately, fewer than 150,000 votes separate Cruz from Morales, so it’s entirely possible that the Mariners slugger will be in the first place when updated voting totals are released next week.
Fans stuffing the ballot box (literally or virtually) for their favorite players is how this process has always worked. The big difference now, of course, is that we don’t punch out paper ballots at the ballpark anymore. Under those circumstances, filling out five was probably a bit much. Closer to 10 was likely cause for concern from friends and family. But with voting now online — exclusively so, beginning this year — it’s no problem to punch through dozens of ballots while sitting at your computer. You can spend your entire lunch break or a slow period at work voting. The only thing stopping you is the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome.
(OK, fans are presumably limited to filling out 35 ballots, but erase your browser’s cookies and you get a fresh slate. How many of us do it to avoid paywalls? It can certainly be done to circumvent All-Star voting limits.)
Would turning over the vote to players and managers (let’s add executives too) make for a fairer All-Star vote? The “right” guys might get picked more often. But would the balloting be agenda-free? Players talk among themselves and get a first-hand look at their peers, but are they really taking a bigger view of the game or focused more on opponents and their individual games? The same goes for managers, many of whom might look to reward their guys for their hard work and successful seasons. Front office personnel might take bonus clauses into consideration in choosing — or depriving — players of an All-Star opportunity.
PHILADELPHIA – MAY 24: An usher holds up All Star Game ballots during a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park on May 24, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 5-3. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
No individual voting contingent represents the best, purest solution. So it’s probably best to divide them among all three groups, as the NFL does with its Pro Bowl voting. I dislike comparing MLB’s All-Star voting to Pro Bowl balloting too, but it appears to be the best way to get the fairest results with each voting body having an equal say.
The idea that seven players from any MLB team could gobble up that many spots in an All-Star Game starting lineup certainly raises an eyebrow. (Just imagine if the Yankees or Red Sox were doing this. That would provoke a whole other argument about large-market domination of the voting process.) But rather than overreact about one team and its fanbase dominating the vote and how something needs to change, let’s take this early result for what it is: a wake-up call.
Three weeks remain in All-Star voting. These voting totals are not set. Far from it, in fact. Fans of the other 29 clubs have been asleep at the wheel and need to slap themselves awake. Rather than complain that too many Royals could start in the All-Star Game, vote for your favorite players. Even things out. Fill out what you see as a fair ballot. And if you only want to fill out a couple of ballots, don’t get upset if someone else chooses to dash off 50 or 100 or more in support of his or her favorite players. Everyone has an equal chance. This is still a fair process. No radical changes are necessary.
And if seven Kansas City Royals end up starting in Cincinnati on July 14, tip your cap instead of shake your fist. Applaud a fanbase for caring enough to skew the results that heavily. This is exactly what the All-Star Game is supposed to be about.
