The All-Star Race is PEAK MLB Growing Pains

The voting system for the MLB All-Star game STINKS.

It’s understandable the league wants to give the fans what they want- that’s the concept of selecting starters based on fan vote.

BUT

There is an inherent difference in having a game to showcase the best in your sport and “grow the game” versus just having a game appease to appease your largest markets.

It’s basic deductive reasoning. Teams in big cities have more fans —> fans vote for players on their teams —> large markets are overrepresented.

This is the only shoutout to a St. Louis Car*****s account you’ll ever see from me, but I share in the sarcasm.

Here’s some context into the process directly from mlb.com 

Each league has to fill 23 positions after the fans select the starters so that each roster has 20 position players and 12 pitchers per side. These spots are filled in a collaborative effort between players and the Commissioner’s office.

The ballots gathered from players account for 17 players in each league -- eight pitchers (five starters and three relievers), as well as one backup for each position. If the players select a guy already voted into the starting lineup by the fans? Next man up. The guy who was second on the player ballot at that particular position is selected as the backup. This doesn't change the number of player ballot selections. The player ballot is basically used as a pecking order to fill the backup slot at each position.

The Commissioner's Office is then responsible for selecting six additional players in each league (four pitchers and two position players). At this stage, MLB must ensure that every club is represented by at least one All-Star selection.

Here’s my gripe with the process- in a game driven by data and statistics, where the winning team is vastly more often than not the one that played better- shouldn’t the All-Star game showcase the best players in each league? The World Series isn’t decided by which players are most beloved by their fans, it’s decided by players playing the game the best for the longest.

I’m not saying the fans don’t matter. But come on, let’s look at some of the finalists this year (top 2 vote-getters in each category). *Auto-spot awarded for Ohtani and Judge due to receiving most fan votes.

National League (LOL the Dodgers have a finalist at every single position. I’m shocked!)

American League

Who was snubbed?

Elly De La Cruz

De La Cruz leads NL shortstops in Home Runs (18), RBI (55), SLG (.511), OPS (.862) and Runs Scored (64). Emphasis on the word “leads” as in not one SS has better numbers than him in those categories. For a guy who can run amongst the fastest in the league and possesses a cannon for a right arm- there is no way he shouldn’t be a finalist for starter.

James Wood

Arguably the biggest snub and the one that makes me scratch my head the most from an entertainment factor. Wood is only 22 years old and is EXACTLY the type of player who can enthrall young fans and get them to follow the game. Slight self-dox here, I wore the number 5 growing up because I was mesmerized by how good Albert Pujols was, even as a Braves fan! I grew up with his MLB career. James Wood has the potential to be the best hitting NL outfielder for the next decade and is a guy that should be incessantly promoted by the league if they truly want to “grow the game”.

Brice Turang

Turang finished ninth- i repeat ninth- in fan voting. What a sham. Get this, Ketel Marte is a very deserving top vote-getter at the position. No question. Why? Because he leads all 2B in the entire MLB with 2.9 Wins Above Replacement. You know who is tied with him? Brice Turang! How does one lead all 2B in voting while the other is 9th???

Byron Buxton

Just this week, the official MLB accounts posted this:

Yep, that’s Buxton right there at number 6. A guy that came into the league with dazzling speed and defensive gems just happens to be having a career year hitting. Let’s compare the year he’s having to two of the Outfield finalists in the American League, Mike Trout and Javier Baez.

SNUB!

Matt Olson

C’mon, this is a Braves newsletter. While I can admit that he started slow, I can also objectively see that his last month has been spectacular. Look at this thread from our team account:

“Grow the Game”

The MLB isn’t the only professional sports organization that claims it wants to “grow the game” while repeatedly prioritizing short-term revenue over building generational relationships with fans. The PGA Tour’s fractured response to LIV Golf is a prime example; an institution that built its legacy on tradition and loyalty now caught in a scramble for immediate financial leverage rather than long-term fan loyalty. So many golfers now choose to watch YouTube hacks instead of the literal best-in-the-world. Fumbled opportunity. Admittedly, it’s way more interesting to watch some guys let loose and have fun on the course rather than a corporate-sponsored meetup of golfers with the most dull talking points. But that’s the point of this argument.

It's never been easier to forge deep, authentic connections between athletes and audiences. Today’s young fans are flocking to Twitch streamers, YouTubers, and social media influencers not just because they entertain, but because they engage directly, consistently, and personally with the fans. That’s what builds loyalty in the digital age. Yet many traditional leagues still treat their athletes like distant corporate assets rather than accessible humans.

If the MLB truly wanted to “grow the game,” it would shift to promoting guys that are the best in baseball even if in markets with less fans. The Teoscar Hernandez selection over James Wood perfectly encapsulates this.

“BuT bUt BUt you’re saying appeal to the fans while advocating against a fan vote!”

Yes. I’m saying the game is grown by getting people interested and closer to obsessed with the sport as a whole, not just the team local to your fandom. Look at the Super Bowl. Plenty of Americans watch two teams that they aren’t “fans” of because of the spectacle and brand of the event. We as a society collectively agree that those two teams are the best the league has to offer in terms of being the best that particular season.

It’s not a fan vote that led to that reputation. Highlight the best in the game so that people in New York can see the best OF in the National League even though he’s in Washington.

Plain and simple, voting should be stat based with fans splitting hairs on close calls at the end.

Insert old man yells at cloud meme despite the context of growing up obsessed with Albert Pujols.

What the Braves need to do to make the playoffs

Play the Mets every game for the rest of the season.

The Braves have won 28 of their last 40 against the Mets with a +77 run differential.

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