Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Yasiel Puig and the MLB All Star Game


I normally don't care about the MLB All Star Game.  Sure, as a baseball fan, I'll peek to see who made the team when it's announced but that doesn't mean I'm going to watch it.  The one interesting debate regarding this year's All Star Game is on the candidacy of the Dodgers' Yasiel Puig.

Puig has played in only 27 of the Dodgers 82 games thus far (roughly 33%) but since his call up, he has had arguably the best 27 game start to a major league career.  He's hitting .443 with 8 home runs and 21 runs scored and his tear is still going strong.

So based on only 27 games, does Yasiel Puig deserve to be on the National League All Star team?  Is it fair to another player who might be deserving and has played the whole year?  For me, my answer is yes.

Now if a similar situation happened in 2002, my answer is different.  Once Bud Selig (stupidly) made the All-Star game determine home field advantage for the World Series, roster fairness became a little less important.  I understand that Puig doesn't have the sample size where you're confident he'll keep this up in the second half (and he definitely won't), but the National League is trying to win this game now.  So what if after the All-Star game Puig hits .150 with no home runs and never plays in the majors again? So what if 2013 is a year we look back on and laugh when we see Puig's name on the All-Star team.  The All-Star game is, first and foremost, a game for the fans.  Yasiel Puig has captured the imagination of baseball fans in first his 106 at bats.  Couple that with the fact that there is something at stake in the All-Star game, why not capitalize right now on using MLB's hottest player? It seems to me that his inclusion on the roster should be a no-brainer.

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