KC Royals: All-Star Game or All-Star Fraud

Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

2. If we must keep the All-Star Game tied to the World Series, then cut the All-Star rosters down to 25, like a regular season game. Define or designate some statistical metric, or combination thereof, and use that to determine your roster makeup.

Eliminate voting altogether. In doing so, you’re ensuring the best players are being represented, by eliminating voter bias. Wouldn’t it be kind of neat to have the guys who have had the best season up to that point truly earning an All-Star nod?

If you absolutely had to, maybe open up one or two roster spots for fan voting, but give the fans a legitimate, narrowed down list of choices to choose from.

I could stomach, but still wouldn’t like, home field advantage in the World Series being determined by a game where guys like Trout and Cabrera would play all nine innings, or Felix Hernandez would pitch something closer to his regular workload, and someone like Greg Holland and/or Wade Davis coming in to slam the door.

While I’m on my soapbox, let me add this fuel to the fire. There should be no mandate that every team be represented at the All-Star Game. If there’s a team out there that is so awful that doesn’t have one player worthy of the All-Star distinction, tough. Remember when the Royals ‘had’ to be represented, and we were sending guys like Mark Redman and his 5.00+ ERA to the All-Star Game?

I would’ve rather the Royals live with the shame of not having anyone worthy in 2006, than send someone like Redman. Let teams suffer that embarrassment a little. Maybe then they’ll feel a little more obliged to put a better product on the field.

These seem like some very simple fixes that could either give the fans complete control over the roster, or on the other hand, add some legitimacy to a game that is in desperate need of it considering what it ultimately determines.

Next: So who deserves to go to the big game?