All-Star voting shows fans may not really care about PED use.

[Austin]

Fans so far want Nelson Cruz and Melky Cabrera as All-Star starters.
Cruz leads at DH, Cabrera is the third outfielder, despite both recently serving 50-game suspensions and admitting to PED use.

Cruz's great stats (.319 avg., 21 hr, 55 rbi) are worthy, Cabrera's are decent (.303 avg.)

So does the fan balloting show that fans are forgiving of former PED users, or have they just become apathetic and not care anymore?

By the way, Ryan Braun is in 6th place among NL outfielders.

 

[ASTROBURN]

Im in the "dont care" section of the group. Granted, i havent voted yet.

 

[Pine Tar]

This is why the fans should also vote for the Hall of Fame

 

[u2me57]

I care. I won't be voting for Cruz, Cabrera, or Braun.

 

[Yanks2151]

I'm kinda in the I don't care category. I just think it sucks for the guys who do the right thing. So I'm torn.

 

[Mighty Bombjack]

I don't think it is as simple as care vs. don't care. There is a middle ground that probably views these guys as having paid their debt, meaning that a 50-game suspension doesn't have to forfeit any and all future consideration.

Is the assumption that these guys are still juicing? If so, I think we need to assume that pretty much everyone is juicing (which in turn leads many of us into the "don't care" camp).

 

[Big Mac McGwire]

Put them all in the Hall and let em all play. It's entertainment. The Steroid Era was EXTREMELy entertaining and in life, I love being entertained regardless if some fluid in their buttox is the sole reason.

 

[Juan Gris]

I would never vote for Cruz, Cabrera and (especially) Braun because I don't think fans should feel obligated to boo someone at an All-Star game.

 

[BiggioBrooks755]

I care. I won't be voting for Cruz, Cabrera, or Braun.

100% agree!

If they get in I will be chanting "STERIODS" at all 3 of them! esp Ryan Fraud!

 

[Calripkenjrcollector]

I think it all boils down to fans vs collectors.
Fans don't care because it's entertaining to see a little ball fly 400+ feet when mister juicer hits it
Collectors don't want to take a chance on buying mister juicer's cards because of losing their value

Although most collectors claim they don't collect for the monetary value of the card(s), I don't think they mean they don't care how much they pay for it.

 

[hive17]

The fans and the media are all hypocrites. Even those that say they won't vote based on some "principle" are still likely blind to some other hypocrisy in their cheers. Maybe it's not hypocrisy so much as it is blind homerism. Mark my words: there will come a day when the fans sitting in the stands will be juiced up (testosterone replacement therapy, legal HGH, dozens of other "feel better/focus better" drugs), clamoring for "clean players".

 

[Austin]

Maybe it's not hypocrisy so much as it is blind homerism.

Must. Refrain. From. Writing. Comment. About. How... ironic your comment of "blind homerism" is considering your comments in every thread about PEDs and Ryan Braun.
Oh, damn.

 

[hive17]

Must. Refrain. From. Writing. Comment. About. How... ironic your comment of "blind homerism" is considering your comments in every thread about PEDs and Ryan Braun.
Oh, damn.

I'm pretty sure I include myself in the part about "the fans". The difference is that I've come to admit my homerism or hypocrisy; others can't.

 

[Topnotchsy]

All-Star game is for performance this season. I think many assume the players are no longer using steroids so the numbers for this season are legit.
HOF is a career achievement and a component of their career numbers are tainted.

 

[petMonster]

I think kids account for the majority of the votes for the all star games, and they vote over and over and over again. My guess is most of these kids have no clue that Cruz and Cabrera were busted out for juicing. Hell, I even forgot Cruz was busted in Texas until I read it here again. And I mighta forgotten all about Cabrera had he not been on my fantasy baseball team when he got caught and suspended. Both players have changed cities and neither have been nearly as famous as Braun is or as Bonds and McGwire were, so my guess is they are looking at stats and highlights when voting, and they don't know much else about these guys. If you were to take away the age 13 and under votes (and all their dupe votes), my guess is neither of these guys would make the team unless the managers picked them

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[u2me57]

Juiced up fan? No. Well, I might take ****** in the future, but that doesn't mean I'll cheat on my wife. Hypocrite? Nope. Am I a homer? Yep. Big time Jim Thome homer. I really enjoyed watching most of his 612 pure power home runs.

 

[Bootstraps9]

All-Star game is for performance this season. I think many assume the players are no longer using steroids so the numbers for this season are legit.
HOF is a career achievement and a component of their career numbers are tainted.

This is spot on. They served their debt to the game and are clean now. If you are in the boat that they are still juicing, then you shouldn't vote for anyone because after testing positive a player has more strict testing procedures. If you think guys are beating the elevated procedures, than everyone else must be easy defeating the crappy normal testing from MLB. Cruz is by far the best DH this far in the season, and Cabrera has put up very good numbers (not sure how he ranks among AL OF cause there are a lot of them).

 

[shayscards79]

The fans and the media are all hypocrites. Even those that say they won't vote based on some "principle" are still likely blind to some other hypocrisy in their cheers. Maybe it's not hypocrisy so much as it is blind homerism. Mark my words: there will come a day when the fans sitting in the stands will be juiced up (testosterone replacement therapy, legal HGH, dozens of other "feel better/focus better" drugs), clamoring for "clean players".

Well, politicians are hypocrites and are full of ****.. but people still vote by the tens of millions in November.

I'm sure there are players that we've voted for in the past that were using but never busted for PEDs as well. Honestly, I don't care anymore, especially because I put half the blame on Major League Baseball for this PED outbreak and yet I still watch baseball.

 

[Topnotchsy]

This is spot on. They served their debt to the game and are clean now. If you are in the boat that they are still juicing, then you shouldn't vote for anyone because after testing positive a player has more strict testing procedures. If you think guys are beating the elevated procedures, than everyone else must be easy defeating the crappy normal testing from MLB. Cruz is by far the best DH this far in the season, and Cabrera has put up very good numbers (not sure how he ranks among AL OF cause there are a lot of them).

Yup. Not that it's relevant for either of these two players but I do believe that when such a player comes up for consideration for the HOF, many of the people who were fine with him making the AS game will think twice about voting for him for the HOF.

 

[Hakuna Machado]

I have voted for Cruz as I feel he has paid his debt with the 50 game suspension and this years stats that he is putting up are legit.