Posted on 07/05/2011 5:06:20 PM PDT by rhema
Some guys get to the all star game on name recognition alone.
It should be Peralta in the All Star Game, not Jeter.
Baseball’s all star game is a total joke. Has been since the “fans” got to choose the players. It is just who is the most famous. Guys having great years are left off while old timers having bad years get voted in, IE, Jeter here. He has not been an all star for two years.
As long as fans can vote (and multiple times) New Yorkers will always be able to dominate the choices.
So is the hall of fame.
Jack Morris, one of the best pitchers of the 80's can't even get close because a bunch of spoiled sports writers can't stand him.
I don't know writer Kallman's favorite team. He's a FReeper, so maybe he'll reply to you.
Twins fan here. Comparable to Jeter's unprepossessing season (especially compared to AL shortstops Asdrubal Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta), my Twins don't have any legitimate all stars, Mauer being hurt for most of the season and even now struggling to raise his BA. But even the Twins' mandatory, one-player-per-team pick -- Michael Cuddyer -- has much better stats than Jeter: .290 BA, 12 HR, 35 RBI vs. Jeter's .256 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBI.
Wasn’t Mike Schmidt voted to the all-star team, despite being on the DL list? It was so long ago, I forget. But it HAS always been a popularity contest. I used to respect the all-pro team in the NFL much more, because the players only got to vote. THEY knew who deserved to be there.
I’m a Tiger fan and I kind of question sending Alex Avila as starting catcher.
He’s a fine catcher and can swing a bat but I wonder how far his connections go. His father has worked in MLB administration for years and works for the Tigers now, plus his Godfather is Tommy LaSorda. Between them, I’m sure they bring a lot of votes.
Verlander, Valverde, and Cabrerra are good picks (of the Tigers)
.314 BA, 14 HR, 49 RBI vs. .256 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBI.
Nuff said.
Now Jeter’s an All-Star starter? A bitter Red Sux or NY Mut fan. Eat your heart out. Bwaahahaha ...This may come as a shock to you, but more than mere Met or Red Sox fans have questioned his making this year's All-Star starting lineup or team.
For the record, I am a Met fan since the day they were born and a Red Sox fan since the 1967 pennant race. (Ask not my bill for controlled substances in 1986!) I also respect Jeter's career and achievements. If I had the vote, I'd elect him to the Hall of Fame myself.
But he doesn't belong on this year's All-Star team.
Wasn’t Mike Schmidt voted to the all-star team, despite being on the DL list?That actually happened in 1989 . . . . after Schmidt decided to retire earlier in the season. (He did it pretty much because he realised he wasn't Mike Schmidt anymore, even if he was leading the National League in RBIs at the time he retired.)
Kallman answers his own question (or rant) right here. It wouldn't be the first time nor will it be the last ... /shrug
It just is what it is. Boo-Hoo ... there are far more pressing issues within MLB than whether a legacy player gets to start on the All-Star team in the waning year(s) of his career, such as the looming Hall of Fame consideration for recent 'juicers' (of which Jeter is NOT!)
-- MM
Kallman answers his own question (or rant) right here. It wouldn't be the first time nor will it be the last ... /shrugYou were right the first time---it was a question, not a rant.
It just is what it is.Until now, I wasn't aware that something being what it is equaled something being right.
Boo-Hoo ... there are far more pressing issues within MLB than whether a legacy player gets to start on the All-Star team in the waning year(s) of his career . . .It doesn't equal a suggestion that other pressing issues are any the less pressing to address a matter that just so happened to be a matter of the day on the day a commentary is written and published.
. . . such as the looming Hall of Fame consideration for recent 'juicers' . . .That is an issue that gets addressed as its relevance arises (such as, during Hall of Fame voting season and during induction week, to name two such occasions), aside from the fact that that's hardly the only pressing issue pressing upon baseball. (Just ask any Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Mets fans pondering their teams' actual or prospective financial collapses; or, any Houston Astros fan pondering his team's ownership situation and whether realignment speculation might indeed move the Astros to the American League.)
p.s. I still believe Jeter's performance this season does not deserve a 2011 All-Star berth.
Try it out and see. If there is ANY pause to think it over, then it's no. In my hall, the only people inducted would be clear, unquestionable immortals, and the great and near-great players on the outside looking in would serve as further testament to the greatness of those on the inside.
I don't have that much trouble with Jeter's being on the team. The fact that he's starting reminds me of the '57 NL voting results.
I am sure there have been times where a Pete Rose or a Cal Ripken or a Joe Morgan or someone got into the All Star game on the strength of their legacy, and someone having a great year got left out. That’s how it goes. Jeter is going to the Hall of Fame, he’s in the twilight of his career (still hard to believe how time flies), and so he’s getting his props. It’s not outrageous. It’s a testament to his star power, and 3,000 hits is still a meaningful number. 5 championships is no joke either.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.