Apple Music, Johnny Manziel, and HELL YEAH U.S.A!: While We’re Waiting…
July 6, 2015C-Cap Recap: Despite Good Impressions. . .
July 6, 2015Whether fan voting is fair or not, the Cleveland Indians, barring injury, will not have a starter for the 2015 All Star Game.
Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, who is arguably one of the best position players in baseball so far in 2015, had the best chance of being named a starter but did not receive enough fan votes to be one. In fact, he finished third among American League second basemen, with 4,704,386 votes, placing him behind starter Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros (9,634,464 votes) and Omar Infante of the Kansas City Royals (8,999,117 votes). Infante just missed being the fifth member of the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals to be named a starter.
Kipnis is by far the best second baseman in the American League (and even the MLB) so far this season. He ranks among the best in most statistical categories in the American League: .341 batting average (first in AL), 109 hits (first), .419 on-base percentage (1st), 27 doubles (first), and 56 runs (second).
Obviously, Kipnis was not happy that he was snubbed from being a starter and expressed his frustration on Twitter with a single emoji.
https://twitter.com/TheJK_Kid/status/617843894324207616
Besides Kipnis, Indians outfielder Michael Brantley was the next-closest to being voted a starter, among position players. Brantley finished ninth among AL outfielders with 3,728,831 votes.
The All-Star reserves and pitchers, who are selected by MLB coaches, will be revealed Monday night at 7 p.m. ET. Kipnis, Brantley, starting pitcher Corey Kluber, and closer Cody Allen all have a shot at being named a reserve.
The All Star Game is July 14, at 7:00 p.m. ET, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.
5 Comments
Thats the Kluber emoji
Seems to be more folks than usual beefing with fan voting this season, and I’m not sure why. This is the system, folks. Not saying it’s the right way to go about selecting all-stars in any sport (especially when a league does something as ridiculous as attach meaningful stakes to the outcome of an exhibition game), but it’s the way things are done. And before you claim that it inevitably shafts small market teams/players, do you really believe the Royals to have a significantly larger fan base than the Tribe? Or is it maybe the fact that the Royals have had major success of late that has stirred the intensity of their fans passions? I’m confident that if the Tribe was coming off a WS appearance and started the following season hot that our fans would do what KC fans have. Until that happens, I don’t expect to see Wahoo (or block C) caps in the AS starting lineup.
The All Star game used to be the prestigious Midsummer Classic. Now it’s just more schlocky marketing crap. Another pigeon feather in Selig’s legacy cap.
Last week, some of my buds and I voted 35 times for all ten Royals on the ballot in the hope that they would all start (at the time we voted, eight Royals were in the lead). This was one of those “send a message” protest things that we hoped would force MLB to put some common sense into picking teams.
Sadly, only four Royals made it. Hope that’s enough to force MLB to change, but eight KC starters, including Omar Infante and his .231 average, would have been awesome.
To me, it’s an exhibition game. The fact that it decides the WS home team is merely a fancy flip of the coin IMO.
Voting makes people feel like they have a stake in it. It’s a marketing tool and it works.
Honestly, it’s not real baseball, but I have a hard time decrying something that young fans enjoy. And, young fans enjoy the All Star Game. I would not watch it except it’s one of the few games (and HR derby) that my boys want to watch more than myself. It’s a win for baseball and that’s good enough for me.
Kipnis will make it as will Dozier at 2B now Infante on the other hand shouldn’t even be on the team. Cody Allen and Carlos Carrasco also deserve a spot.