My fellow fans of the Silver and Black, we need to have a little chat. The first results of Phase 1 of All-Star Voting were released earlier this week. I have one word to describe them: Yuck!
If voting ended today, no White Sox player would have a chance to start in the Midsummer Classic. Think about that. The team with probably the greatest story in the entire league this season would have no one even make it to Phase 2 voting. Andres Gimenez, shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays, would advance, while Colson Montgomery would be stuck hoping he got in as a sub. No offense to the folks up North of the border, but a shortstop with a WAR of 0.1 has no business moving on. The good news is: we've got time to do something about it!
In case you haven't voted in a while or have been living under a rock, All-Star Game voting works like this. Fans can make selections for Phase 1 until Thursday, June 25 at Noon. Voters are allowed to cast up to five ballots in 24 hours with an MLB account. The top two vote-getters at each position move onto Phase 2. The Phase 2 process starts at Noon on Monday, June 29 and ends on Thursday, July 2nd. For those players selected to advance to the next round, they get a clean slate; all results from Phase 1 are wiped clean. Fans can vote one time in a 24-hour period during phase 2, and the winner at each position is then named the starter.
Munetaka Murakami's case
First off, let's get this out of the way. Yes, injured players can be voted in. Look no further than this year; Aaron Judge injured his rib and won't return in time for the midsummer classic, but he is second overall in AL voting. Since Murakami has been on the IL since May 30, I thought the only fair way to look at his candidacy would be to look at an average per game approach for some vital stats. In those areas, the per game average is listed first with the overall number for the season in ( ).
Votes | Games | WAR | AB | Hits | BA | R | HR | RBI | OPS | Field% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guerrero (TOR) | 603,014 | 68 | 0.7 | 246 | 1.01 (69) | .280 | 0.71 (39) | 0.04 (3) | 0.40 (27) | .737 | .987 |
Rice (NYY) | 509,830 | 65 | 2.3 | 239 | 1.08 (70) | .293 | 0.78 (51) | 0.29 (19) | 0.72 (47) | .998 | .995 |
Murakami (CWS) | 437,107 | 56 | 2.0 | 200 | 0.86 (48) | .240 | 0.71 (43) | 0.36 (20) | 0.73 (41) | .938 | .995 |
Kurtz (OAK) | 269,658 | 71 | 3.4 | 256 | 1.01 (72) | .286 | 0.71 (51) | 0.25 (18) | 0.80 (57) | 1.006 | .995 |
Alonso (BAL) | 202,781 | 73 | 1.7 | 277 | 0.96 (70) | .253 | 0.6 (44) | 0.22 (16) | 0.66 (48) | .808 | .996 |
Despite being the leading vote-getter, Vlad Guerrero Jr. is clearly the least deserving of the options, so let's focus on Rice and Murakami. While Rice has an obvious advantage in Hits, BA, and OPS, Murakami still leads in home runs and is close in Runs, RBI, and Fielding %, even with time missed. There's a case to be made that Murakami's incredible rookie season is deserving of the spot.
Colson Montgomery's case
Bobby Witt Jr. has a clear lead so far, and he's earned it. However, Andres Gimenez being in second place is, for lack of a better word, interesting. No need to average anything in this group, as everyone has played roughly the same amount.
Votes | Games | WAR | AB | Hits | BA | R | HR | RBI | OPS | Field% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Witt Jr. (KC) | 890,575 | 73 | 4.0 | 289 | 82 | .284 | 37 | 9 | 28 | .807 | .985 |
Gimenez (TOR) | 354,651 | 68 | 0.3 | 225 | 50 | .222 | 16 | 6 | 30 | .620 | .992 |
McGonigle (DET) | 266,239 | 69 | 3.8 | 259 | 73 | .282 | 46 | 5 | 25 | .811 | .979 |
Montgom. (CWS) | 176,673 | 67 | 2.1 | 247 | 55 | .223 | 33 | 17 | 40 | .801 | .985 |
Pena (HOU) | 162,537 | 36 | 1.1 | 138 | 37 | .268 | 25 | 3 | 12 | .722 | .958 |
The choice again is between power (Montgomery) vs. average (McGonigle). There's nothing wrong with the "homer" vote here. Hawk Harrelson would be proud.
Miguel Vargas' Case
Votes | Games | WAR | AB | Hits | BA | R | HR | RBI | 2-Out RBI | OPS | Field% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Caminero | 625,520 | 69 | 1.6 | 262 | 72 | .275 | 43 | 15 | 32 | 7 | .864 | .951 |
Okamoto (TOR) | 556,72 | 70 | 1.2 | 255 | 60 | .235 | 34 | 15 | 42 | 14 | .761 | .959 |
Vargas (CWS) | 329,208 | 69 | 2.5 | 251 | 62 | .247 | 51 | 16 | 44 | 17 | .860 | .970 |
Jung (TEX) | 285,827 | 67 | 1.5 | 258 | 78 | .239 | 32 | 8 | 30 | 8 | .819 | .974 |
Ramirez (CLE) | 269,973 | 72 | 2.5 | 268 | 64 | .302 | 42 | 10 | 33 | 10 | .757 | .964 |
Out of all the White Sox candidates, Miguel Vargas might have the best case of all. He leads all third basemen in homers, RBI, and WAR, runs, and Fielding %. In addition, he leads all players at his position in 2-out RBI. It's time to get this man some votes!
Overall, there are multiple White Sox players who deserve to be in the conversation for the All-Star starters, and White Sox fans need to vote. The Blue Jays may have an entire country on their side, but the White Sox have some of the best fans in the business, and they're more than capable of getting their players back in the race. The task looks daunting, but anything is possible. Just ask Cape Verde's soccer team!
Add us as a preferred source on Google