Not that it should surprise us. The MLB All-Star Game as currently constructed is a popularity contest more than a reward for good play, which is its own problem. But when I looked at the current voting list, I found two races to be particularly egregious.
1. The current leader in shortstop voting is the cement-footed Derek Jeter. Jeter is hitting .263 with a .328 OBP and .326 SLG. You read that correctly: his OBP is higher than his slugging percentage. He has 2 homers and 16 RBIs, along with just 7 doubles, while striking out 27 times. He hasn't been a good fielder for years, so it's not like that's doing anything for him. Other than being handsome and a leader and dating Minka Kelly, he's not really helping the Yankees out much.
Meanwhile, Asdrubal Cabrera, owner of the world's greatest name, is crushing the ball for the most surprising team in baseball, the Indians. Drubes is hitting .307, with a .356 OBP and .541 SLG. 12 homers, 15 doubles, 7 steals...he's just a better hitter. Without watching many Indians games, I'm going to go ahead and say he's a better defensive shortstop too.
2. Greatest Person to Have Ever Lived Adrian Gonzalez is currently trailing Mark Teixeira in voting, by about 100,000 votes. Now, Teixeira is a great first baseman, there's no question about that. He's got a .917 OPS, and 18 homers, and blah blah blah. But Adrian Gonzalez! The man touched by God himself, spawned from the spirits of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Josh Gibson, with the heart of Gandhi, is not going to start the All-Star Game? This is unacceptable.
Adrian has a .964 OPS. Fewer homers (12), but he's hitting .340, is a great fielder, and again, is the perfect representation of all that is Man.
So, Sox fans, get out there and vote. Only vote these two races if you'd like. But we need to correct these errors.
