No One Will Remember These All-Star Snubs
By Kyle Koster
You can set your watch to it. As soon as the Major League Baseball All-Star teams are announced, the aggrieved or pretending-to-be-aggrieved rush to their keyboards and microphones in order to tell the world who got snubbed. Who has has been the subject of grave injustice. Who deserved better.
It is as much tradition as cog in the great content wheel. Baseball is a regional sport and every fanbase believes its own players to be uniquely qualified for the Midsummer Classic.To state the obvious, it is good that fans are engaged and passionate. And it is good business to try to capitalize on that passion in the name of clicks and tune-ins.
But I can promise everyone feeling worked up by a specific slight one thing. This too shall pass. Sooner than you think.
I challenge you to name the snubs from last year that got people hot and bothered. Or the year before that. Or 2015 and so on. Heck, I challenge you to tell me anything about the last few All-Star Games off the top of your head. Who won? Where was it played? Who did well?
It’s a task even pure baseball fans may find challenging. The point? The All-Star Game is supposed to be fun, a reward for players and treat for fans. There are inherent flaws. Some guys would rather have the days off. Mandatory representation makes it harder to field the most deserving players.
Snubs are always going to happen, no matter how big a tent is created with an expanded roster. Just as there are complaints over bubble teams in the NCAA Tournament, there will always be guys left off the team and Final Vote who have a reasonable case.
So, yeah, Blake Snell and Nicholas Castellanos probably deserved better this year. Matt Muncy and Jesus Aguilar have earned their places. Fill in your guy here and unleash the fury. It’s cathartic. But I can virtually assure you that you’ll forget how worked up you were about your pet cause by football season, if not before. A few years down the road and it won’t even be a memory in your mind.
This too shall pass. It always does.