The results from the first round of balloting for the All-Star Game in Anaheim have just been released. So far, it’s been dominated by the the Phillies and Cardinals - if the game were held tomorrow, the only position player from outside those two teams would be Brewers’ outfielder Ryan Braun.
NL West Gets No Respect in All-Star Balloting
But perhaps even more startling is the total lack of recognition given to the NL West. There is not one single player from the division ranked higher than fourth at their position, while the Padres (tied for the NL West lead) and the Rockies have combined for zero of the fifty names listed. That's despite them arguably being the strongest division in the league, possessing a collective record of 28-26 against the East and 34-27 against the Central.
Particularly glaring an omission is the Padres’ Adrian Gonzalez. He leads the league in OPS+ among first-baseman, and even if you discount park factors for hitting in the offensive hellhole which is Petco, still comes among the top five for straight OPS. But he’s getting less votes than Lance Berkman, who is hitting .233, with an OPS this season that’s 120 points worse than Gonzalez.
Yes, I know. The All-Star Game is about as meaningful a guide to actual player performance as an appearance on Dancing With The Stars. But what irritates me is that - as we keep getting reminded - “This Time It Counts.” World Series home-field advantage is now at stake, and a SABR study done just before they started using the All-Star Game to decide this, showed that the “home team” in the World Series won 58% of the time. That’s significant.
Given this, I want the National League to have the best team possible, and it should therefore not be picked by a bunch of relentless homers who, it appears, would vote for a corpse wearing a Phillies jersey. If the price I have to pay for that is losing my solitary ballot, punched during idle moments at the park during a blowout game, it's one I am more than happy to pay.
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