MLB's All-Star Game Is for the Fans—at Least According to the Media

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The moment that Major League Baseball announces the starting rosters for its annual All-Star Game, sports fans across the United States (and maybe Ontario) begin dissecting the selections. 

The most common topic is one on who was not selected, which then leads to a discussion on who does not belong in the All-Star Game.

While the reserves usually ensure that most "deserving" players make it to the Midsummer Classic, snubs still exist. Snubs will always exist in any all-star contest simply because there are usually too many quality players to choose from. It is rare that a position is so shallow that people are selecting from a pool of mediocre players.

But what all of this discussion leads to is a simple question: Should fans be allowed to vote for the starters in an all-star contest?

Well, the topic itself has been approached by several writers on b/r, including Christopher Murphy's article on snubs, while Shady Botros wrote two articles—one examining the American League snubs and one examining the National League omissions. 

Dan Wade put together a column discussing how the debate over what the All-Star Game is about (fan favorites or performance) is moot, as most deserving players make it anyway.

It is almost overkill for me to put out another article on the selections, as there are many other articles that already exist on Bleacher Report (many with only a few reads). However, I am going to write one anyway, but hopefully take a different approach.

Any all-star contest exists for one reason, which is a combination of the two ideologies that Wade discusses. It serves as a stage for fans to see both their favorite players and the game's most talented players (some who are likely unknown to the casual fan).

But there is a priority in terms of all-star ideologies. Fans come first, and then the young talent receive their due respect. Major League Baseball even acknowledges this when, in a press release announcing the opening of fan voting, they write, "Fans can send their favorite players to St. Louis" (emphasis added).

Because fans come first, there will obviously be players on the starting roster who might not be statistically the best at their given position. Even though those fan omissions are often included via player vote, a trickle-down effect occurs that is not unlike a 6-25 NCAA basketball team winning its conference tournament and "bursting" a bubble team. 

The selection of Josh Hamilton by the fans ultimately means that either Ian Kinsler or Adam Lind will not be on the final roster.

This is what leads to this debate over whether or not fans should choose the starting roster. Those selections have an effect everywhere else on the two rosters, especially with the requirement that all 30 teams send at least one representative.

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