All Star Ballot

[Willihammer]

Have people voted already? How long do you wait?

Anyone want to share their ballot and/or reasoning behind certain players?

[stringer bell]

I voted shortly after the the voting was open.  I voted some more today.  My ballot: (AL) DH-Cruz, C-Vogt, 1B-Miggy, 2B-Dozier, SS-Iglesias, 3B-Plouffe, OF-Trout, OF-Brantley, OF-Adam Jones.  (NL) C-Posey, 1B-Goldschmidt, 2B-Gordon, SS-Simmons, 3B-Frazer, OF-Stanton, OF-J Upton, OF-Harper

 

Probably some bias selecting the two Twins.  I added Harper and Jones and subtracted a couple guys who started out hot.  There are a lot of guys who aren't having banner years.

[Paul Pleiss]

My Allstar Ballot:

 

The end.

 

The online voting, and how early it opens, is hilarious to me. I just can't bring myself to participate. I'd be happier to see more manager/front office/player voting and less fan voting. You're not getting the best and brightest stars, you're getting the big names, regardless of current performance level. Which is great. Fans want that, but then why does WS home field advantage hang in the balance of the game?

 

Stupid.

 

I consider Bud's decision to have the ASG "matter" up there with his idea for contracting the Twins.

[kab21]

Voting for the All-Stars is a joke but saying who you think All-Stars are is alright.  Dozier has the best argument amongst Twins to be an AS starter.  It's hard to argue that Plouffe is having a better season than Donaldson and there are another 3-4 3B having similar seasons.

[stringer bell]

 

My Allstar Ballot:

 

The end.

 

The online voting, and how early it opens, is hilarious to me. I just can't bring myself to participate. I'd be happier to see more manager/front office/player voting and less fan voting. You're not getting the best and brightest stars, you're getting the big names, regardless of current performance level. Which is great. Fans want that, but then why does WS home field advantage hang in the balance of the game?

 

Stupid.

 

I consider Bud's decision to have the ASG "matter" up there with his idea for contracting the Twins.

That's why I only voted 5-10 times early.  I subbed in Harper since his incredible month and I'm tempted to add Prince since he seems to be destroying the baseball lately.  I agree that setting home field advantage on an exhibition is foolhardy.  Either rotate it or go with the league that has the advantage in interleague games. 

[Willihammer]

I think I gotta wait. Can't figure out who to put for AL SS and one or two other spots

[JB_Iowa]

Based on no Twins in the top 5 vote getters at any position (or top 15 in the outfield), I say no Twins fans are voting.

[spinowner]

I don't like the all star game, mainly because it doesn't have the best team from each league. For me to care about the game the following changes will need to be made:

 

Voting is done by players and writers. Broadcasters and fans don't vote. The top two vote getters at C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS and DH and the top six vote getters in OF are on the team with the top vote getter (top three OF vote getters) starting. The top three starting pitchers and top four relief pitchers make up the pitching staff. Players are required to be on the roster if chosen unless they are on the DL, in which case the player with the next number of votes at that position plays. Players play for the league they are playing in at the time of voting.

All three starting pitchers on the roster must have at least three days rest. Managers choose the starting pitchers. Managers are not required to play every player and have full authority on substitutions.

The game serves as the tie-breaker for WS home field advantage. WS home field is granted to the representative of the league with had the better record in interleague play.

 

And of course, no one has the authority to declare the game a tie except the umpires, who may do so only in case of rain or an unplayable field.

 

Do the MLB bigwigs care what I think? Of course not. Will these changes ever be made? Of course not. But I do enjoy venting.

[Sarah]

I am annoyed that they don't have paper voting in the stadiums any more. Does anyone know the reason behind this? Maybe I missed the coverage on that. First the Cubs are not on WGN in Minnesota because it's not a superstation any more and now no paper ballots for the All-Star Game. It's the end of an era...I looked forward to punching out my ballot as I watched the Twins game. 

[TheLeviathan]

I would imagine it is in part to avoid waste.  Which makes sense - it's a crap ton of wasted paper and garbage.

[drjim]

 

I would imagine it is in part to avoid waste.  Which makes sense - it's a crap ton of wasted paper and garbage.

 

And web clicks.

[ashbury]

And hanging chads.

[Pius Jefferson]

I wonder if this is the beginning of the fan vote not being the loan criteria for the All-Star game starters?

[bluechipper]

Fan voting has got to be changed.

 

Today's update has Alex Rios 4th among OFers. He is batting .255 with 1 HR and 8 RBI.

[Willihammer]

I'm done waiting. No Royals on my ballot.

AL

C- Vogt, 1B- M. Cabrera, 2B- Kipnis, 3B- Donaldson, SS- Semien, OF- Bautista, Trout, Cespedes, DH- Cruz

NL

C- Posey, 1B- Goldschmidt, 2B- Wong, 3B- Frazier, SS- Peralta, OF- Stanton, Harper, Pederson

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Fan voting has got to be changed.

 

Today's update has Alex Rios 4th among OFers. He is batting .255 with 1 HR and 8 RBI.

To be fair, Rios was hitting pretty well the first week of the season until we injured him via HBP, and he's only just returned the past week.

 

Still obviously a major beneficiary of the Royals fan voting, of course.

[formerly33]

Welcome to the American League, represented by the unsurpassed Kansas City Royals! (Oh wait, they're not in first place anymore, are they? "Good team, bad baseball"?)

 

Obviously with an "#ASGWorthy" roster, this team should be able to win the World Series. I'm almost ready to lay down my money right now ... but I think I'll wait until after the Midsummer Classic just in case this All Star Team isn't good enough to even take home field advantage. If they couldn't win last year with that, they'll be hopeless without it this year.

 

Also, if our American League representatives can't win the All Star Game, I think it would be fun to see a race between the Twins and the Indians at the end of the season. If the Indians won the pennant, they should do just fine with the away team advantage the All Star Royals would have earned them.

 

Oh, and why doesn't MLB change their All Star Game hashtag to #StuffTheBallotBox? That seems pretty darn relevant to me.