MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred yesterday said he would be “open to change” regarding the All-Star Game voting process if the league gets a “result that is not consistent with the goals of the system that is in place,” according to the AP. The Royals currently have eight players slated to start this year’s All-Star Game, but Manfred said that it is still “too early to draw conclusions.” Noting there is more than two weeks left in the fan balloting, Manfred said, “Lots of years we’ve worried about lots of things about fan voting, but in general fans have done a good job. We’ll see how it all turns out” (AP, 6/16). Manfred also addressed the number of Royals leading their positions in voting on SportSouth’s broadcast of Braves-Red Sox yesterday, saying players picking the reserves for the game provide "a great check and balance on the fans." SportSouth’s Joe Simpson wondered if the All-Star Game should still determine home-field advantage in the World Series. Simpson: "If the players are playing for that, shouldn’t they be entitled to pick the starting lineup and then let the fans pick the extra men?" Manfred responded, “We have a huge amount of player participation in terms of picking the overall rosters. The next nine are picked by the players, they have input with respect to all of the pitchers." He added, "The fact of the matter is most of the guys elected to the team are going to play. The difference between the starters are who plays what innings in what order” (“Braves-Red Sox,” SportSouth, 6/16).
MADE YOUR BED, NOW LIE IN IT: MLB this season eliminated in-ballpark voting for the All-Star Game and went to an online- exclusive process in which fans can vote up to 35 times per e-mail address. The Washington Post’s Kevin Blackistone said, “This is the system that Major League Baseball has devised, and this is the result they get.” ESPN’s Pablo Torre said, “This is democracy and we need to uphold these results. This is also a perfect symbol of the regionalism of baseball.” But ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez said, “The problem is baseball has this rule where they make the All-Star Game more meaningful than it should by giving home-field advantage to the winner in the World Series” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 6/16). ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said, “If you don’t want to empower the fans to vote 135 times because you’ve got four e-mail accounts … then don’t allow it. This is Major League Baseball’s fault.” ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser noted Royals 2B Omar Infante is leading his position despite hitting just .210 and asked, “Can the league let Infante start without being considered a total joke?” Kornheiser: “Baseball has to eat it on this because they put voting online ... and they have to live with the consequences” (“PTI,” ESPN, 6/16). ESPN’s Jemele Hill said the voting never should have gone online, but should have “strictly stayed in the ballparks.” Hill: “We have to go to the game and make an investment.” She said if eight Royals do end up in the starting lineup, MLB is “going to have to step in and do something to prevent this happening” (“His & Hers,” ESPN2, 6/16).
