5 NL All-Star Snubs Caused by Pablo Sandoval's Vote into Starting Lineup

Is it worth getting worked up over the MLB All-Star starting lineups? We're basically talking about a popularity contest with the lineups at the mercy of the fan vote.

Sometimes, that results in the wrong player being elected to start, but this is for the fans, so if they want to stuff the ballot box to get their guy in, so be it.

However, so many of us who really care about baseball want the game to mean something. (Something other than who gets home-field advantage in the World Series, that is.)

The best players should be in the game and should earn their spots based on merit. When that doesn't happen, it's easy to get upset and criticize the selection process. 

This year, the embodiment of outrage over the fan vote is the San Francisco Giants' Pablo Sandoval, who was elected as starting third baseman for the National League.

Sandoval's .848 OPS would rank him fifth among NL players at his position, but he missed 35 games with a broken hand and doesn't have enough plate appearances to qualify for listing among the league leaders. 

So the New York Mets' David Wright is a reserve, despite his batting average, on-base percentage and OPS ranking among the top three in the major leagues. Wright still made the NL All-Star team and will play plenty in the All-Star game, so it's not like he was completely snubbed.

A few other players won't be on the NL All-Star roster because of Sandoval's election to the starting lineup. These are the real snubs. 

Chase Headley, San Diego Padres

Headley isn't necessarily having an All-Star season, but with a .272/.371/.418 slash average, eight home runs and 38 RBI, he's the Padres' best offensive player and should have been the team's representative in Kansas City. 

Since the team already had a reserve third baseman, manager Tony La Russa looked to the Padres to fill another need and selected closer Huston Street.

Street is having a fine season, compiling a 1.35 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 20 innings, but he's only appeared in 21 games because of a shoulder injury. 

Ryan Vogelsong and Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants

Kudos to Giants fans for such an impressive effort in fan voting.

As the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman wrote, Sandoval and teammate Buster Posey were likely beneficiaries of fans casting as many votes as possible for Melky Cabrera to ensure he'd get into the NL starting outfield over Ryan Braun. 

By electing Sandoval to the NL All-Star team, Giants fans probably took a spot away from one of their deserving pitchers.

Three San Francisco players were already on the roster and other teams needed to be represented, so spots that could have gone to Vogelsong or Bumgarner ended up going to Street and the Arizona Diamondbacks' Wade Miley. 

Aaron Hill, Arizona Diamondbacks

Hill leads NL second basemen with an .872 OPS, 73 percentage points more than the Houston Astros' Jose Altuve. His 11 home runs are tied for the most at his position, and his batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage each rank among the top two. 

Perhaps Hill would have been snubbed anyway, as Altuve was the Astros' sole All-Star, but had Sandoval not been elected to the team, Wright's reserve spot would be open for another player.

La Russa may have selected Headley as a backup third baseman, but the spot also could have gone to Hill, who could have filled in at third base later in the game, if necessary. 

Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds

I'm not sure you can really blame Phillips' omission on Sandoval being elected as a starter.

Dan Uggla winning the fan vote at second base wasn't quite as problematic, but some feel Phillips was a more deserving player. (I'm not among them, as I think Hill would've been a better selection.) 

I realize the Reds and their fans think La Russa snubbed Phillips and pitcher Johnny Cueto because he still holds a grudge over their involvement in a brawl with the St. Louis Cardinals two years ago. (The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay buys into that argument as well.)

La Russa still selected Jay Bruce and Aroldis Chapman, so maybe he did single out Phillips and Cueto. 

As with Hill, though, the reserve infield spot that Wright ended up taking could have gone to Phillips.

With some experience playing shortstop, perhaps Phillips could have played there in later innings and taken the spot that went to the Washington Nationals' Ian Desmond. 

Follow @iancass on Twitter