Mark Teixeira an All-Star? I Think Not
May 25, 2010 · Kevin Miller · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
With the current All-Star voting tallies, I’m forced to ask the question, “Is it time for some changes regarding the selection of Major League Baseball’s All-Star teams?”
As of today, May 25th, Mark Teixeira is the leading vote getter for 1st basemen in the American League. Yet Teixeira is batting an abysmal .209 and, in his own words, “can’t get any worse.”
But, nonetheless, Yankee fans are voting him onto the All-Star team. I understand a fan wanting to support his team but this is ridiculous! And Yankee fans are certainly more intelligent than to believe Teixeira is having a season that is even remotely All-Star caliber.
The New York Yankees have an immense world-wide fan base, and rightly so. They are one of the most celebrated sports franchises on the planet. They have the largest fan support of any team in baseball. And we all know that the All-Star game is something of a popularity contest.
But, that having been said, there is no excuse for rewarding sub-par performing players with the honor of an All-Star appearance. This is especially true when there are so many players that are really deserving of that honor.
Yankee fans are great baseball supporters and love their team. So one would think they wouldn’t be very proud of a 1st baseman who is getting paid 180 million and yet is barely over .200 in his batting average.
Now I am not writing this article with the intention of focusing blame or criticism just on the Yankees. It just so happens that the Teixeira matter is the most glaring impropriety in the voting thus far. There are others as well.
Would it be proper for the league to intervene in voting and determine when an undeserving player is getting a disproportionate number of votes, due to large fan base support? Could that be done with fairness?
It’s a difficult situation since the league hopes to field All-Star teams that the fans want to see. And the league assumes that the fans will be able to govern themselves in voting for deserving candidates.
Yet that doesn’t appear to be the case so far this year. And one could hardly place much credence on an All-Star game that features players who, by their own admittance, “can’t get any worse.”
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