Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer Misses Cut for 2017 All-Star Game
By Jesse Holt
Despite a late lead in voting, Kansas City Royals first baseman, Eric Hosmer will miss the 2017 All-Star Game. It’s understandable for Royals fans to be disappointed, but they should not be bitter about the turn of events.
As Kansas City Royals fans already know, the participants for this year’s All-Star Game were unveiled on Sunday night. It was no shocker to see Salvador Perez and Jason Vargas listed among the stars for the American League. More surprising than the selections of Perez and Vargas was the exclusion of first baseman and reigning All-Star Game MVP, Eric Hosmer, from the lineup.
When updated totals were released on June 26th, Hosmer was in first place leading by nearly 71,000 votes over second place, Justin Smoak of the Toronto Blue Jays. In the span of a week, Canada rallied behind Smoak and pushed him ahead of Hosmer in the final tally.
Honestly, this should come as no surprise to supporters of the boys in blue. As Royals fans remember, Canada rallied behind Josh Donaldson over the final weeks in 2015. The rally eventually pushed Donaldson ahead of Mike Moustakas in the third base vote.
After a few precursory glances at Twitter, it’s evident a segment of Royals fans are ticked off about Hosmer’s exclusion from the All-Star Game. I agree that I too am bummed about the final vote, but I don’t believe those feelings are totally warranted.
Eric Hosmer’s Uneven 2017 Season to Blame
There seems to be one thing that likely kept Eric Hosmer out of the All-Star Game above all else. Simply put, he has not put together a complete season in 2017.
It’s true that Eric Hosmer has potentially been the best player on the Kansas City Royals roster in the months of May and June. That, however, doesn’t make up for the fact that his April was really, really bad.
In case you have forgotten during the Royals red hot run, Hosmer ended April with a batting average of .225. Hosmer has since raised his batting average above .300, but I would wager that the damage was already done in the eyes of many fans.
It’s true that Kansas City faithful are always going to support their guys when it comes to All-Star voting. Look no further than 2015 and “The Summer of Omar“. That is not the case among all fans though. I believe there is a sizeable majority who instead vote for who they feel the most deserving player is.
Between Hosmer’s early struggles and the team’s difficult start to the season, many in baseball had already written the Kansas City Royals off for 2017. Even though both Hosmer and the Royals have since turned things around, it’s difficult to overcome a first impression.
All of the negative talk surrounding the team may have impacted local voting totals for the Kansas City Royals. For some time, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that players like Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain would be traded.
If that was to be the case, you can’t blame KC fans for not being as passionate about voting this season. Why spend hours of your life typing five-digit captchas just to see your effort give another team an All-Star Game starter?
How Should Fans of the Kansas City Royals React?
I agree it’s disappointing to not see Eric Hosmer have the opportunity to repeat as All-Star Game MVP. The fact that this is likely Hosmer’s final year in Royals blue also adds to the disappointment.
There are so many positive things with the Royals right now that fans shouldn’t be down about. In addition to All-Star berths for Perez and Vargas, Moustakas has the opportunity to make the roster via the Final Vote. Moose also was named as a participant in the Home Run Derby on Monday evening.
The positive feelings surrounding the Kansas City Royals should extend beyond next Tuesday night’s All-Star Game. The Royals are tied for the second Wild Card and are only a game and a half back of Cleveland for first place in the AL Central.
Fans should simply enjoy the remaining ride left with the roster that made baseball fun again in Kansas City. Don’t wallow in anger about a possible snub for Eric Hosmer. Instead, make a statement by cheering on Mike Moustakas in the Home Run Derby and don’t forget to #VoteMoose in the Final Vote!