Why do so many think a player being an All Star = anything?

ThoseBackPages · Feb 6, 2011

Why do so many think a player being an All Star means anything as far as superstardom?

i see it thrown around here on FCB..."well Player X was/is an all-star X amount of times"

so what?

Ted Simmons was an 8x All Star
George Foster 5x
Steve Garvey 10x (including 8 years in a row)
John Stearns 4x
Cecil Cooper 5x

the list goes on and on.

Fans vote for All Stars, plus every team MUST be represented as well

All In Cards · Feb 6, 2011

its still pretty big if you think about it

30 teams x 25 players per team = 750 players

there are a total of 64 all stars

32 per team

Brewer Andy · Feb 6, 2011

Its not a performance statistic, but a statistic that may help sell cards. I agree it means little if nothing when arguing a player's talent

blitzerlover · Feb 6, 2011

I totally agree. Especially when making a Hall of Fame case, using the amount of All Star Game appearances is ridiculous. Just look at Joey Votto, he won the MVP this year and almost didn't make the all star team.

ronfromfresno · Feb 6, 2011

Because being an All-Star is an honor, you are being recognized as a leading talent in the league or at the very least a top player on your team. The fans vote for starters and one replacement so most people should drop the notion that All-Stars are all voted in by the fans, the fans pick 10 of the 30+ players on the team. Managers and other players vote/pick the rest of the teams. Being recognized by your peers are an elite performer during the 1st half of the season is quite an accomplishment and should be noted.

ffgameman · Feb 6, 2011

I think in the current generation, it may begin to mean even less. You have "fan favorites" getting voted in who don't deserve it, while players who do deserve it get snubbed.

scotty21690 · Feb 6, 2011

It would mean a lot if not every team had to be represented.

uniquebaseballcards · Feb 6, 2011

ThoseBackPages said:
Ted Simmons was an 8x All Star
George Foster 5x
Steve Garvey 10x (including 8 years in a row)
John Stearns 4x
Cecil Cooper 5x

the list goes on and on.

Fans vote for All Stars, plus every team MUST be represented as well

Your Stearns example is spot on - he was the "best" player on some horrible teams, plus AS catchers aren't easy to find anyway so it worked out for everyone in this instance (sorta).

Hollywood · Feb 6, 2011

Its kind of a joke. The NL voting, OF in particular is bad. This years voting you can already pencil in Braun, Heyward, CarGo, Holliday, pick 2 Phillies outfielders, whatever random guy having career first half, and then everyone else that has no chance. Kemp's 162 game avg line for age 21-25 is .285/90/23/86/27 as a Centerfielder. How many all star games, 0. How many Centerfielders had a better average line over that same amount of time? Gold Glove and Silver Slugger at age 24, no AS Game. This is probably because the highest he ever ranked on a Baseball America prospect list was 96 lol.

1995BBRefractorGuy · Feb 6, 2011

Because being an All-Star is an honor, you are being recognized as a leading talent in the league or at the very least a top player on your team. The fans vote for starters and one replacement so most people should drop the notion that All-Stars are all voted in by the fans, the fans pick 10 of the 30+ players on the team. Managers and other players vote/pick the rest of the teams. Being recognized by your peers are an elite performer during the 1st half of the season is quite an accomplishment and should be noted.

+1

craftysouthpaw · Feb 6, 2011

I think it equals something but its importance is often overblown.

The problem when it comes to HOF voting is that the same faulty logic that was often used to choose All Star teams is then carried over to the HOF vote. So it kind of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

For example, Blyleven was probably snubbed for 3 or 4 AS games because he wasn't properly evaluated, didn't get the exposure, etc. And then the voters look back and say he wasn't Hall-worthy because he didn't make enough AS teams.

Also, the fact that it can reward a good half season can cause issues as well. The team would certainly look somewhat different each year if the game was played at the end of the year.

Topnotchsy · Feb 6, 2011

I like considering All-Star selections. It's not a perfect stat, but it does give you an idea of how they performed relative to their peers. For a guy like Brian McCann (who I actually mentioned AS appearances in reference to in another thread) his numbers do not fly off the page, but his 5 consecutive all-star game appearances are a reminder that for the lat five years, he has been one of the best couple of catchers in the NL.

James52411 · Feb 6, 2011

ThoseBackPages said:
Why do so many think a player being an All Star means anything as far as superstardom?

i see it thrown around here on FCB..."well Player X was/is an all-star X amount of times"

so what?

Ted Simmons was an 8x All Star
George Foster 5x
Steve Garvey 10x (including 8 years in a row)
John Stearns 4x
Cecil Cooper 5x

the list goes on and on.

Fans vote for All Stars, plus every team MUST be represented as well

Ted Simmons and Steve Garvey were outstanding ballplayers. Coop was pretty darned good too.

ThoseBackPages · Feb 6, 2011

James52411 said:
Ted Simmons and Steve Garvey were outstanding ballplayers. Coop was pretty darned good too.

i totally agree and in fact i liked them when i was a kid watching baseball. but they are examples of guys that are "lost" in the pre-internet days, and will fade away with time

elmalo · Feb 7, 2011

craftysouthpaw said:
I think it equals something but its importance is often overblown.

The problem when it comes to HOF voting is that the same faulty logic that was often used to choose All Star teams is then carried over to the HOF vote. So it kind of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

For example, Blyleven was probably snubbed for 3 or 4 AS games because he wasn't properly evaluated, didn't get the exposure, etc. And then the voters look back and say he wasn't Hall-worthy because he didn't make enough AS teams.

Also, the fact that it can reward a good half season can cause issues as well. The team would certainly look somewhat different each year if the game was played at the end of the year.

The fans dont pick pitchers.

bowmanchromeandorr · Feb 7, 2011

for it to be a true all-star game, since baseball is stats driven, just take the top 6 outfielders, top 5 starters and top 2 relievers alogn with the top 2 at the other field positions and call it good. if there are only 8 teams in each league represented then so be it. this isnt little league with all that "everyone gets a trophy" ********. its the frigging MLB. if its done taking the top players then it will be a true all star game.

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