We all believe in our hearts that the best players should get chosen for the mid-summer classic All-Star game; however, the word ‘best’ is very subjective just like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
https://twitter.com/AllStarGame/status/743470101064613888
The fans get to choose the starting position players from the computer generated ballot, and those votes guarantee you a spot. The problem with the fan vote is that many times the fan vote is a popularity contest not always based on the merits causing All-Star snubs.
Pitchers and non-starting position players are determined through a combination of Player Ballot choices and selections by the reigning World Series managers who this year are Terry Collins for the National League and American League manager Ned Yost from the World Champion KC Royals.
The fan vote winners, player ballot winners, and managers choices will be revealed on ESPN on Tuesday night July 5th at 7:00pm (ET).
After the All-Star rosters are announced, there will be players that opt-out for injuries and other personal reasons plus there are pitching exemptions for any starting pitchers that pitch on the Sunday before the All-Star game that will affect the final roster. The managers have to make sure each team is represented. There is also now a final fan vote done online to try pick a player who was snubbed.
Here are some of the finer details:
> The players’ ballot elects 8 NL position players, 9 AL position players and 8 pitchers on both sides — 5 starters and 3 relievers.
> The NL manager picks 9 players: 5 pitchers and 4 position players. The AL manager has 7 picks: 5 pitchers and 2 position players. The NL manager has 2 more picks because the AL has 2 designated hitters — one selected by fans and one selected by the players.
> After the Tuesday All-Star roster is revealed, MLB announces 5 finalists in each league for the Final Vote. The All-Star managers choose the finalists in conjunction with the Commissioner’s Office. The Final Vote begins Tuesday night and runs until Friday at MLB.com.
Other players get added as injury replacements sometimes until Sunday. For instance, a player like Clayton Kershaw will be chosen and might opt-out not to participate because he is on the Disabled List.
If an elected starter is unable to play, the All-Star reserve who received the most votes on the Player Ballot at the injured player’s position moves into the starting lineup. The roster replacement is chosen by the manager.
If a selected reserve or pitcher can’t play, the All-Star manager and the Commissioner’s Office decide together on the replacement.
This was the last NL All-Star tabulation from the fan vote that was published on June 27th:
It appears that Bryce Harper will be voted in, and Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos will need to depend on the Player Vote or the Manager’s pick to make the All-Star roster without having to worry about the Final Vote or becoming a replacement player.
We have compiled charts updated today for 6 Washington Nationals’ players who are worthy of an All-Star vote:
Which Washington Nationals players would you choose out of the following list as an All-Star:
