Half Right

Every year I say I am not going to pay attention to the All-Star game, and every year I still get sucked into the selection process. This year I had a good excuse because two very deserving players, with great backstories were on the ballot for the fans to select as the final addition to the roster. Fans got it half right.

Blue Jays relief pitcher Steve Delabar is 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA. He has some impressive advanced stats as well, striking out 12.43 batters per 9 innings and allowing only 1 homer in 41 innings (could be an element of luck there). But forget his stats, look at his story. He spent 6 years in the minor leagues and in 2009 he fractured his elbow.

It was repaired with a steel plate and 9 screws. He pretty much gave up on his baseball dream at became a substitute teacher at baseball coach at a high school in Kentucky. As the arm recovered he realized he was throwing harder than ever before. He got signed to a minor league deal with the Mariners in 2011 and by the end of the year he made his debut in the majors. Hard not to root for a guy who has been through that.



And then there's Puig who absolutely set the world on fire since his debut in June. He's batting .391 with 8 homers and 19 RBI in what amounts to basically a quarter of the season. His OPS of 1038 is incredibly and would be even higher if he ever walked. And his offense is the least exciting part of his game.



I have always had a fascination with strong-armed outfielders and throws like that make me want to watch Puig everyday. So why didn't the fans vote him in? There are some stuffy old people who hate young guys, and think they need to earn their spot, and 40 games is not enough to do so. Well, I say the all-star game is supposed to be fun and if you think watching Freddie Freeman would be more fun than watching Puig, then you are a strange and sick individual.

What makes me angrier about this is that the Blue Jays and Braves formed some unholy alliance to combine votes and get Delabar and Freeman into the game, and it seems to have worked.