SEEING STARS
Blue Jays lefty J.A. Happ is going to the all-star game. Richard Griffin says the all-star rules need to change,
Congratulations to Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ on being named to his first mid-season all-star team. But the bottom line is, the primary reason he is finally an American League all-star is the archaic rule that every team needs to be represented.
There were other starters more deserving, but no other Jays more deserving.
Happ is one of eight AL starting pitchers honoured as an all-star, joining Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole (Astros); Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer (Indians); Chris Sale (Red Sox); Luis Severino (Yankees) and Jose Berrios (Twins).
Among the 40 AL pitchers who have logged enough innings to qualify for the ERA title (one inning per team game), Happ ranks 33rd in ERA (4.44), 22nd in innings (105 1/3), 11th in strikeouts (115) and tied for sixth in wins (10).
Are those numbers realistically solid enough to beat out other snubbed starters like Blake Snell of the Rays (12-4, 2.09), Canadian James Paxton of the Mariners (8-3, 3.49) or Charlie Morton (11-2, 2.83)? Only thanks to the one representative per team rule. Examining the rest of the Jays, there are none who even deserve a sniff of Nationals Park next Tuesday.
Happ is not the only one being honoured by attending the midsummer classic as his team’s lone representative. It should also be noted that many players may also receive bonus money from the wording of a contract that includes all-star-team status.
With regard to having all teams represented, just staying within the AL, there are 10 out of 15 teams that had just one player repping them. C Wilson Ramos (Rays), 1B Jose Abreu (White Sox), SS Manny Machado (O’s) and OF Mike Trout (Angels) were voted in by fans. Catcher Sal Perez, the only rep of the Royals, is included in an equally legitimate vote of his fellow players.
That leaves six players named in consultation between the commissioner’s office and AL team manager A.J. Hinch. It used to be that just the manager and his coaching staff who were responsible for naming their league’s reserves, but the money became too big and the partisanship too obvious, so the change was made.
The list of 2018 commissioner-nominated players that are their team’s only representative includes Happ, DH ShinSoo Choo (Rangers), SP Jose Berrios (Twins), RP Joe Jimenez (Tigers) and RP Blake Treinen (A’s).
Will anyone be tuning in to the telecast to see Choo, Treinen or Jimenez? That rule needs to change. Back when the all-star game was first staged in Chicago on July 6, 1933, it was easy and essential to have all teams represented. There were just eight franchises in each league, while the game itself and the open day on each side was a chance for 16 front offices and team owners to get together and schmooze.
By the 1960s, each league had expanded to 10 teams and by ’69, there were 12 cities represented in each of the NL and AL. Now there are 30 MLB teams and 64 all-star roster spots. Most teams’ front offices don’t bother going to the game and with the overwhelming number of televised MLB games, numerous 24-hour all-sports outlets, fans likely have already seen all the best players many times over. Allstar week is now about players and their families having a good time, television, the home run derby, bribing city governments by awarding them future games and any number of MLB sponsor programs bringing clients for a three-day party.
The rules? Fan voting for the starting lineup is good. The players having a say for the primary backup at each position, plus five starters and three relievers is still good. Baseball choosing to round out the 32-man roster is fine. But scrap the rule that every team must be represented. It should be about the best players.
ALL-STAR BALLOTING SHOULD WORRY JAYS: As long as I can remember, ever since the all-star vote moved away from paper ballots to online, Jays fans across the country have taken their allstar voting rights seriously.
Heavy Canadian participation has signalled that even though ballpark attendance may be up or down due to current team performance and unwise ticket pricing, that the fan base still has had an emotional investment in the MLB franchise.
This year is one that should worry ownership.
Upon examination of the final fan balloting for 2018, the Jays did not have even one position player among the top five at any position, or the top 15 among outfielders. The club did not stage a campaign for any player. All 14 of the other AL teams had at least one player show up in the top five of final voting. That’s alarming.
History? Recall the Jays had a run with Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson for three years out of five in which one of them led the majors in voting — Bautista in 2011-14 and Donaldson in 2015, setting an allstar record with 14.1 million fan votes. The Jays fans crushed the Final Vote balloting in 2013 with RP Steve Delabar, and in 2016 with OF Michael Saunders. Jays fans know, uh, knew voting.
Apathy has become the biggest enemy of the Blue Jays. The fan fervour that accumulated following the 2015-16 post-season runs has all but dissipated. Already, as the Jays slowly slide back through the standings, fading further and further below .500, the danger in any rebuilding plan that lasts beyond the 2019 season will become maintaining fan loyalty for the brand and the need to follow the Blue Jays on television or via any of the various money-making online platforms for Rogers ownership. Those may be gone. How long will the Jays-mania take to return?