I’ve seen a lot of funny stuff on the internet today. It’s Larry David’s 66th birthday, so I watched some of his best moments on YouTube. Then I read some tweets from a local sports talk radio host who used Scott Feldman‘s win-loss record as the reason he wasn’t impressed with the trade for the Orioles. But nothing was as funny as Jed Rigney’s article on Yahoo! Sports about why Albert Pujols should start the All-Star Game over Chris Davis.
Rigney used five ridiculous reasons in his article, so I’ll respond to each here.
1. Name recognition
They call it the “All-Star” game, not the “Some Stars” game. Pujols is having a down year, but he’s recognized worldwide. Chris Davis? I don’t know if he’s a baseball player or an accountant specializing in real estate equity. Pujols is one of the few iconic players of our time. No matter if you love Pujols or hate Pujols, he just makes for a better show.
If you don’t know who Chris Davis is at this point in the season, you probably won’t even bother turning on the All-Star Game. I was down in Florida wearing an Orioles hat at Disney World all last week and was stopped by numerous people who wanted to chat about Davis’ historic season. He’s an MVP candidate, everyone knows his name. The guy was freaking featured on BuzzFeed this morning.
2. Experience
Some people think that the All-Star game actually means something more than just an exhibition game. But, Jed, the winner gets home-field advantage in the World Series! Oh, my, that almost sounds like it makes a difference.
If it is so important, then maybe you want a guy in your starting lineup with experience handling the pressure — maybe someone with two World Series rings. Pujols. Certainly not just some guy having a fluky season, like Davis.
The All-Star game actually does mean something more than just an exhibition game. It’s not something that some people think. Like it or not, it determines home-field advantage in the World Series. It’s important to put the best lineup on the field, not the one with guys who had great seasons several years ago.
3. Career
Sometimes being an All-Star isn’t about how many home runs you have on June 30, but what you’ve done over the last decade. Pujols is a guaranteed Hall of Famer. Before you get your shorts in a twist, just remember that last year Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones were All-Star starters — voted in by the fans.
Wrong. Being an All-Star has everything to do with what you’ve done the first half of the season.
4. Redemption
Pujols went from being one of the most-liked players in the league to one of the most-despised because someone else gave him a bunch of money. So far, Pujols hasn’t lived up to the deal, but a good showing on the worldwide stage of an All-Star game could be the start on his road to redeeming himself. Good television. Or Pujols could fail miserably and his haters can have a parade. Great television.
Shouldn’t Albert use his performance in the other 162 games (or maybe even the postseason) as redemption for those that “despise” him? No one cares about what he does in the All-Star game.
5. That name
In addition to being a great ballplayer, Albert Pujols also has one of the greatest names in the history of sports. In this article alone, I have managed to mention his name over a dozen times. Just imagine the fun we’ll have listening to the announcers talking about the “struggling Pujols” and “aging Pujols” — that’s worth the price of admission right there.It’s called the All-Star game and the teams need to have stars in order to promote the sport and delight the fans. It’s nice to acknowledge a player who’s having a breakout year by putting him on the team. But no one is tuning in to see Chris Davis. Give me Pujols.
Isn’t this the same point as number one? “Name recognition” and “That name” are the same thing. Am I reading Bleacher Report? Everyone is tuning in to see Chris Davis. He trails Miguel Cabrera by less than 400,000 total votes for the top overall spot in the AL, he’s the guy the fans want. Give me Davis.
Thanks to Twitter follower @JT__Orlando for pointing out this article.
Are you sure you were on Yahoo and not The Onion?
COME ON!
Did you click that link?
Like the guy in the $10,000 suit isn’t going to click the link. COME ON!
Oh my, I don’t know whether to be be mad or laugh at this. How does this guy write for Yahoo! ?
The writer must be a close relative who received a portion of his bloated and fraudulant contract…………….
The only thing I might agree with is that some fans may want to see future hall of famers in the all-star game at the end of their career. It did happen with Cal Ripken in 2001 because of his career achievements, and that is what the fans wanted as well as other players around the league that season.
However, not everyone who makes the all-star squad is going to be in the hall of fame anyway, but it doesn’t mean that player doesn’t deserve a spot on the all-star team if their stats that season PROVE that he’s EARNED his spot, hence he is having an “all-star caliber season.”
Finally take a look at any all-star roster from at least 15 to 20 seasons ago, and you’ll be able to easily spot out the hall of famers, but you’ll also see non hall of famers on there as well, most of whom earned their spot. WHY? Because while hall of famers are usually the ones who make the game memorable, no player or manager is bigger than the game itself.
I had to check the day to make sure this wasn’t written on April 1st…
Jose Canseco should be starting over Adam Jones, too. Hell, put Nomar in over Hardy.
Why don’t we let Lou Gehrig play first then? I mean if we’re going by name recognition and past numbers as criteria for our starting first basemen, you don’t get more recgonizable than Lou.
I hear Barry Bonds isn’t doing much…