Goldman: All-Star Game has always had some “Jokers”
From SABR member Steven Goldman at Baseball Nation on July 3, 2013:
Asked about the possibility of Yasiel Puig making the All-Star team on Tuesday, Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon, who may well make the All-Star team himself, said, “To me, it’s an absolute joke. It’s really kind of stupid if you ask me… The guy’s got a month, I don’t even think he’s got a month in the big leagues… To me it really does an injustice to the veteran players that have been in the game for eight-, nine-, 10-plus years. It kind of does them an injustice because they’ve worked so hard to stay there.”
In one sense, Papelbon is right — what we’re seeing with Puig is a glorified hot streak. The thing is, it deserves that glory, being one of the great career-starting hot streaks of all time.
<snip>
But that’s not the only reason Papelbon is wrong. He defined the game as some majestic honor bestowed on veteran players, but it’s not that, and never has been. Quite often it’s simply been about honoring no-name players who had fluke first halves. Here’s an All-Star team of lame All-Stars.
Read the full article here: http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/7/3/4490518/2013-all-star-game-jonathan-papelbon-yasiel-puig
Originally published: July 3, 2013. Last Updated: July 3, 2013.