I try to not be cynical, but sometimes things are so clear that its hard not to be. The All-Star game, at least for position players, is a popularity contest. There is no way around it. This morning I received an email from MLB.com as a reminder that the All-Star Ballot went online this week, and that I need to go vote for the All Star Game.
Actually the exact wording was:
Get my players to the classic? Look I love the Mets but I'm not going to go vote for Luis Castillo for the All-Star game and at this point I'm not even voting for Bay. I guess the point I'm trying to get at is if the Ballot goes online in April, not even 20 games into the season, he can fans make an informed decision as to who the All-Stars will be midway through the season. At this point in the season, fans are still voting for players who have been projected to have big seasons.
This is also where the big market teams benefit. Not only is their fan base larger, generating more votes, but a larger fan base commands more National media coverage. So the small market fans are bombarded with coverage of players, who are good but may not be an All-Star compared to a player on a smaller team.
The MLB All-Star game is one of the best in sports. I just feel that it could be better if fan voting didn't start until the end of May, to at least have time for fans to shake off the preseason fantasy baseball blitz of the media hyping up certain players before they step on the field for 2010.
I don't think there is much doubt that this is a popularity contest. My guess as to why they're starting it so early this season is because it probably looks better for them as far as sponsors go to get more people voting. So, start early, who cares about having a true all-star game.