The All Star teams were announced Sunday and I was pumped to see a bunch of my favorite players make the teams.  Jay-Bay, Big Tex, Tim “the Kid” Lincecum, Curtis “How Grand He is” Granderson.  They all made the team and I am pumped for the game and the entire All Star weekend.  It’s going to rock.

So now, with most of the spots filled, there are the final votes to think about to see who will make the final spot on the AL and NL rosters.  In the AL, Ian Kinsler, Chone Figgins, Brandon Inge, Carlos Pena, and Adam Lind make up the final vote list.  In the NL, Pablo Sandoval, Shane Victorino, Cristian Guzman, Matt Kemp, and Mark Reynolds line up in hope of having their All Star dreams come true.  All deserving, all willing, and all worthy choices of these two spots.  But only one can be picked and everyone has their own opinions on who should be in St. Louis for the game.  I believe my picks are solid and I can back them up.  Some may not agree with them but some will.  It all depends on your point of perspective.  Here’s mine.

The first thing voters have to think of when they make their votes for the entire rosters in general is how they think the game should be played.  Should it be played to win or should it be played with just the top players in each league.  If you think the game is to be won, you might alter your picks to make sure there is more versatility on each roster.  In the AL, instead of picking Ian Kinsler, who is having a STELLAR season, you may pick Chone Figgins who can play a few different positions.  He can be moved around for a switch when you need to pinch hit for a pitcher.  Since the game is being played in the National League, this is a very important aspect of the game, assuming you are playing to win the game.  Now, if you take the “the best players should play”  route, then Ian Kinsler and Carlos Pena would most likely be at the top of most peoples’ list.  They have the best stats of the five players in the AL and they are the most worthy of the spot.  But again, it all depends on how you look at the game.

On the NL side, you might pick an outfielder for the final vote, Shane Victorino or Matt Kemp for instance.  The outfield is the most versatile position for the All Star game and outfielders can generally move around from each of the three positions.  On the other hand, if you look at who deserves it the most, Victorino and Kemp would be up there, and Pablo Sandoval would be up there.  Among the five, those three have the best stats.  The same for the AL goes for the NL.  It all depends on how you look at the game.

Personally, the way I look at it is this… the best players should make it, regardless of their versatility.  I mean, yeah some guys that deserve it more than others aren’t going to make it because there is no spot for their position on the roster left.  They might not be the best at their position and they won’t make the team.  Say an outfielder makes the team because there are more outfield spots on the roster than second baseman.  But say the second baseman is having a better season than the outfielder.  Tough break.  He’s not going to make the team.  That is going to happen sometimes.  But the best players at the positions available should make the team.  That is the whole concept of the All Star Game.  All Stars are the best in the game.  They are meant to be honored at the All Star game as the best of the best.  Not the guys who will help the team win.  That rule was only recently appointed anyway.  Back in the day when the All Star game was first started, the rosters were made up of those who were the best in the league.  Now that the game counts, people take on a different perspective that I think ruins the voting process.  All Stars are All Stars… that’s so simple.

The two guys I would pick would be Kinsler and Victorino.  Now, Kinsler doesn’t give you much versatility.  Big deal.  He is having a better season than the starting second baseman, Dustin Pedroia, but might not even get in because of his lack of versatility.  Victorino on the other hand is an outfielder and is more valuable as a versatile tool than maybe the other guys.  Sandoval is also very versatile, able to play at the catcher, third base, and first base positions.  It doesn’t get much more versatile than that.  And Kemp is an oufielder too.  But out of the three, I think Victorino is the best and is having the best season.  In this case, it all comes down to who you think is having a better season.  If the player is having a good season and is also versatile, than you have a great player and an easy pick.  It’s pretty simple.

Now, those are my thoughts on how the All Star voting process should go.  I’m sure there are many of you out there who disagree with my whole point of view, but I really don’t care.  My final thought… All Stars are All Stars.

-Dillon