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There’s three things about the All-Star Game that I believe to be true.
First and foremost, the game does not, nor should it, mean anything. It used to determine home-field in the World Series, so in the past, it made good strategic sense to vote for the best players in your league and the worst players in the other, to give your team the best chance of catching the other team at a disadvantage (not that this ever happened, but it was a view point some had).
Secondly, it’s at a bad time. Is there a good time for the All-Star game? I do not know this. Before the season just makes no sense, since nobody is in top form, and you just aren’t going to see good baseball. At the end of the season makes less sense too, because by this point, players are winding down, and nobody wants to play a meaningless game at the end of the year. They want to start their brief vacation and go home to their families. In the middle of the season makes the most sense, but you begin to fear the worst... a season-altering injury in the middle of the season. There may not be a better time for the game, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking it’s a bad time for a meaningless game.
Third, and finally, every season there are snubs. It’s just how it is, since every team has to have a representative. Until injuries occurred, the fifth best position player in all of baseball - Xander Bogaerts - wasn’t on a roster. Snubs are par for the course, unfortunately.
This is what this weekend’s prompt is about. We know the rosters now. You can see them here.
What would your choices be for the All-Star game if you had a choice?
You can keep it short and sweet, and choose a single player you think got majorly snubbed, or you can go deep and create two (one for each league) 32-man rosters, and explain each and every choice individually (I will not be doing that one, I promise). We want to see how you would have constructed a roster, and what your philosophy behind the game is.
Alternatively, if you feel this isn’t quite your thing, you could tell us what you would change about the All-Star Game (make it matter, change when it happens, etc) to make it more appealing to other people. Or you could write about how we need to host the All-Star Game. I won’t complain about that (the Sox are trying to get the 2029 ASG).