I kind of abused a similar system earlier this year and was one of the idiots who repeatedly voted for John Scott to get into the NHL All Star Game. That's more of a for-fun thing though. The MLB All Star Game, for reasons I still don't totally understand, still determines home field advantage in the World Series.
Since this is the case, I take my voting for these honors very seriously. As much as I want to spam vote Cubs, I can't in good conscience do that. The All Star Game should be a showcase of the best talent Major League Baseball has to offer.
I always want to wait on casting my ballots until right before the deadline, though MLB tweaked the rules this year and imposed a daily vote limit. This means I won't cap out on my 35 allotted votes, but I'll be close. Below are my picks for this year's Midsummer Classic in San Diego.
1B- Miguel Cabrera, DET
2B- Ian Kinsler, DET
SS- Xander Bogaerts, BOS
3B- Manny Machado, BAL
C- Salvador Perez, KC
DH- David Ortiz, BOS
OF- Mookie Betts, BOS
OF- Mike Trout, LAA
OF- Mark Trumbo, BAL
Most of these were pretty straightforward. Miggy and Ian Kinsler are putting up some fantastic numbers in Detroit, Xander Bogaerts has been ridiculous, Manny Machado is a homer machine, as is Mark Trumbo, Mike Trout is obvious, and Mookie Betts is the best of the rest of the outfielders. David Ortiz, especially in his last year, is a no-brainer. Catcher was a little trickier because there aren't really any outstanding picks, but Salvy is the obvious pick of this bunch.
National League
1B- Anthony Rizzo, CHC
2B- Ben Zobrist, CHC
SS- Corey Seager, LAD
3B- Kris Bryant, CHC
C- Wilson Ramos, WAS
DH*- Nolan Arenado, COL
OF- Dexter Fowler, CHC
OF- Yoenis Cespedes, NYM
OF- Marcell Ozuna, MIA
Major League Baseball needs to revamp the fan voting and since they allow a DH vote for the AL, they need to allow an automatic write-in for someone in the NL to be the DH. I actually swapped Nolan Arenado for Kris Bryant on the Tuesday before the deadline after Kris Bryant did things to baseballs no one has ever done before. It's a fairly Cub-heavy lineup, which is a little biased, but who of the Cubs on this list, other than Arenado for Bryant, can you justifiably argue? Maybe Paul Goldschmidt or Wil Myers for Rizzo, but Rizzo has a legit argument. You could also easily put Daniel Murphy ahead of Ben Zobrist and I wouldn't complain, though Zo was scorching hot in May to get here. I don't know that you can argue many outfielders ahead of Fowler; Ryan Braun, Carlos Gonzalez, or Starling Marte might be justifiable choices. Bryce Harper's average is too low for me though. Elsewhere, as much as I'd love to keep up the David Ross write-in campaign going, Wilson Ramos has had a phenomenal year. Really, as long as the guy who spits on umpires who is inexplicably deified by idiot Cardinals fans doesn't win, I'm good. I can't in good conscience vote for Addison Russell to be in the game. Corey Seager has been phenomenal for the Dodgers and gets my vote. The other two outfield spots go to Yoenis Cespedes, who has been excellent for the Mets again, and Marcell Ozuna, who's having a breakout year in Miami.
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