Filling out the perfect MLB All-Star ballot
It's the most polarizing time of the season: MLB's All-Star fan vote.
Just before midnight (ET) on Thursday, polling will close for this year's American and National League starting lineups. The process has long enraged critics, who argue that fans shouldn't decide the key players for a game that determines home-field advantage in the World Series.
If the Midsummer Classic was an exhibition game, perhaps the naysayers wouldn't complain about Alcides Escobar out-voting Carlos Correa. Maybe then they wouldn't mind that Marcell Ozuna ranks third in OPS among NL outfielders but sits 14th in positional voting. It wouldn't matter that fans are encouraged to vote up to 35 times and as many as five in any 24-hour period.
Alas, the fan vote remains an important part of the All-Star Game, and the results revealed thus far have been anything but egregious. We decided to weigh in on the fun as well, so our editors voted for who they believe to be the most All-Star worthy players this year in an effort to create the perfect fan ballot.
AL staff ballot
| Pos/Editor | Birenbaum | Mcwilliam | Sharkey | Toman | Wile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Perez | Perez | Perez | Perez | Perez |
| 1B | Davis | Hosmer | Cabrera | Davis | Cabrera |
| 2B | Altuve | Altuve | Altuve | Altuve | Altuve |
| SS | Bogaerts | Bogaerts | Lindor | Bogaerts | Bogaerts |
| 3B | Donaldson | Machado | Donaldson | Machado | Machado |
| OF | Trout | Trout | Trout | Trout | Trout |
| OF | Desmond | Betts | Betts | Betts | Betts |
| OF | Bradley | Bradley | Trumbo | Desmond | Trumbo |
| DH | Ortiz | Ortiz | Ortiz | Ortiz | Ortiz |
NL staff ballot
| Pos/Editor | Birenbaum | Mcwilliam | Sharkey | Toman | Wile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Ramos | Ramos | Ramos | Ramos | Ramos |
| 1B | Goldschmidt | Rizzo | Rizzo | Goldschmidt | Rizzo |
| 2B | Murphy | Murphy | Murphy | Murphy | Murphy |
| SS | Seager | Story | Story | Seager | Seager |
| 3B | Bryant | Arenado | Bryant | Arenado | Arenado |
| OF | Ozuna | Cespedes | Cespedes | Ozuna | Ozuna |
| OF | Polanco | Gonzalez | Braun | Braun | Gonzalez |
| OF | Harper | Harper | Harper | Harper | Marte |
The results of our open ballot show a balance between players who deserve to be in San Diego based on this year's performance, and the perennial stars we all believe should be there because of their past. After all, while Bryce Harper has performed like an MVP at times this season, there have arguably been at least three NL outfielders who have outperformed him during the first three months of the season.
AL All-Stars: Consensus Picks
NL All-Stars: Consensus Picks
In tallying up our consensus picks, we had a pair of ties that needed to be settled. Miguel Cabrera gets the nod over Chris Davis (each with two votes) because he has more than double the fan votes (they still count for something!), and to make up for the slight to the Orioles, we gave Mark Trumbo the edge over Jackie Bradley Jr. and Ian Desmond, despite all three having two votes each.