The Show.

I feel like there's a big flaw in baseball's All-Star voting system. Every season, as we get closer and closer to the Midsumemr Classic, we see fans scramble to get as many players from their team in as possible. Of course at first glance this seems like the right thing to do, because after all, the All-Star Game is for the fans as well as the players. The reason I have a problem with it though is because in baseball the All Star game actually means something, which is a another issue all in itself, but we'll just stick with the voting issue today.

Keeping in mind that the MLB All-Star Game counts for something - the league that wins receives home field advantage in the World Series - presents a serious problem when it comes to the voting system of the game itself. If I'm a fan of an NL team, I want the NL to win so in the case that my team makes it to the World Series, they'll have home field advantage. So, wouldn't it make sense for me to vote for AL players who are perhaps not deserving, thus allowing my team a better chance to win? Now, I'm not one to actually do this - I rarely vote at all because of my opposition to the system - but you have to believe that there are people out there that will do this as an attempt to unlevel the playing field, which isn't fair to the players. Does anyone remember the 2007 NHL All-Star voting campaign? The same, "fan-only" voting system that is employed in the MLB also exists in the NHL, and in 2007 a sort of, "ballot box stuffing" incident occurred in which Rory Fitzpatrick - a Vancouver Canucks defenseman with 1 point in 22 games - was in second place for votes amongst West Coast defensemen when the preliminary votes were announced. This sort of thing isn't right for a number of reasons. For one, Fitzpatrick wasn't deserving of an All-Star spot, yet his campaign could have worked because the system is flawed. Luckily, Fitzpatrick was not named to the All-Star Game, but it's easy to see that fan-only votes can result in undeserving players being selected, and when this happens it's unfair to the players who deserve it. It's a big deal for a player to make an All-Star Game if hes paid his dues, and to have it spoiled because of a flaw in the system isn't fair.

Another issue with baseball's All-Star Game voting is this whole, "player campaigning" disgrace. In baseball's current voting system there is a one-player fan-vote after the 33-man roster is selected. Last year Shane Victorino was one of the five NL players up for this final spot, and a frenzy amongst Phillies fans ensued. Whether or not Victorino was deserving of the final spot was disregarded because the fans only cared about getting as many players from their team in as possible. Now I'm not criticizing Phillies fans because this happens with nearly every team, but in the current system all it comes down to is the pride of a fan, and with that he'll vote in a player based on the jersey he wears, as opposed to the numbers he produces.

Of course people are going to argue that the All Star Game is about what the fans want to see, and I agree that they should have a say, but shouldn't fans get the best game possible? One of two solutions would best solve that problem: 1) Limit fan voting to 1 vote instead of 25. That way, a fan has to weigh his choices a little more, and he can only vote for his favorites once. 2) Make it a "funnel" vote, for lack of a better term, in which the fans select say the top 5 at each position, then the managers and/or players and/or owners vote amongst those 5 for the starters. This way you have the fans voting in their favorites while the ultimate selection is left to those who know the game best, which in turn will lead to the best game possible.

Fans should certainly have a say in who gets to play in an All Star Game, but when the game actually counts for something the stakes are a little higher, and when this is the case it should be done right, and a popularity contest is not the right way to do it. Of course, if Major League Baseball wasn't dumb enough to actually make the All-Star Game count for something as big as the World Series, we wouldn't have this mess, but like I said before, that is another issue for another time.