Credit Selig With The Annual All-Star Flubs, Snubs And Follies

In this latest gathering of the Knights of the MMO Roundtable, we ponder the age-old question about the Mid-Summer Classic.

What are your thoughts on All Star fan voting especially when

Home-Field Advantage is at stake?

Jessep – I think people need to remember this game was supposed to be fun. Nobody was really begging for the MLB All Star Game to have added meaning, we just didn’t want it to end in a tie. Personally, it ticks me off that Wright lost the starting role. Last year Mets fans acted like it was our job to get Jose Reyes the starting job in come from behind fashion. Yet, now it was Wright’s turn and we fell asleep at the wheel and then complain about the process. The NY fan base got outdone by a smaller fan base. It’s nobody else’s fault that Wright isn’t a starter but ours. I don’t mind the system they use for picking all-stars at all.

Dan – I could care less. It actually works better that Cargo, Braun and Wright aren’t starters because it means that they will be in the game at the end.

XtreemIcon – I like the fan voting, because the game at it’s core is an exhibition for the fans. That said, I never liked the idea of voting for starters, and what happened with Wright is case in point. I think the voting should be just for members of the team and the manager should be tasked with rounding out the rosters and choosing the starters.

Robert P. – The all star game has been a non-factor for years. While I can appreciate Bud Selig’s attempt to make something out of nothing, the league cannot allow this to turn into a popularity contest. That’s exactly what happened when Pablo Sandoval was voted in over David Wright. If you want the leagues to fight for home field advantage, the commissioner must ensure the best players must be on the field. That won’t happen as long as the fans get a vote!

Satish – Wright should be starting and Dickey should be starting as well. Fan voting is fine if the home-field advantage is taken away. The “every team should be represented” idea works if the home field advantage is taken away, as well. Common denominator? Stop making the goddamned AS game count for something and leave it as an exhibition game with no added significance.

Robert S. – Dont even get me started!!!

Brandon – I believe we should all be happy Wright is even THERE. If he didn’t make the team, then I can see all the cries of him being snubbed and how the voting system is flawed (which it is as long as home field advantage is at stake).

Tyler – Fans should not be voting for the All Star Game starters because they can and will find a way to mess it up. This year is another prime example with David Wright losing out to Sandoval, when Wright clearly deserved it.

Joe S. – Voter fraud in MLB? Call in the Feds! Yes it’s a joke that Sandoval was chosen over Wright but Alderson did make a point when he Tweeted that in a town of 8 million a town of 800 thousand voted in Sandoval. One thing is certain, Bud Selig will NEVER change the voting system. Why? Well let’s see, 25 votes per email adress means MLB can blanket email millions, selling more of their overpriced swag. Now who’s gonna really stop that, the guy in charge of the league? Really?

Gregg – I have very little interest in the All-Star game. in fact, I don’t even watch it. It’s a popularity contest, and latley so many players have opted out, it’s become a joke. Home field advantage is no big deal in my humble opinion.

Pete - Fan voting for the All-Star Game starting line-ups is a joke. And please spare me, because I’ve heard all the tired old arguments why it’s a good idea. “But it’s for the fans!” they shriek. Screw the fans I say. The fans are generally stupid. They don’t vote for the best guy at each position in each league. They vote for all the guys on their team like a bunch of homers, whether the player deserved it or not. Quite frankly I’d be embarrassed to death if we as Mets fans joined together and got say a Daniel Murphy voted into the National League starting line-up. What would the point be in that? Do you want to see a good all-star contest or do you want to witness a big stupid joke, orchestrated by a mob of goofy fans? And look at the fiasco that just went down regarding David Wright? Pablo Sandoval indeed! PHOOOEY! The All-Star squads should be picked by the players and the coaches and managers.

The fans didn’t always have the vote. In fact they were once stripped of the privilege when commissioner Ford Frick uncovered that extreme ballot-stuffing in Cincinnati resulted in seven Reds being voted into the starting lineup in 1957.

Frick was so outraged at the fan voting results that he pulled two of the Reds that had been voted in, Gus Bell and Wally Post, and replaced them with the more deserving Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Fans were banned from voting again until 1970.

The current commissioner, Bud Selig, actually encourages ballot-stuffing and even implemented a system that would allow every fan to vote as many as 25 times for each player.

You want justice or fair play or even just a tiny bit of integrity in the voting process? That ain’t happening as long as Bud is running the show.

That whole job description thing about the baseball commissioner being charged with preserving the integrity of the game is nothing but a bunch of hogwash.

In fact, the commissioner’s chief responsibility is to keep the owner’s coffers overflowing with coin and nothing else matters.