Roche: Being Named An All-Star Is Huge
BOSTON (CBS) - Happy 4th of July everyone. Be careful out there.
Just a thought on a day when we celebrate baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, etc.
The Red Sox had four players named to the All-Star game Sunday.
Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, and Jacoby Ellsbury are all going to Phoenix next week and deservedly so.
However, Jon Lester, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Daniel Bard, and Jonathan Papelbon are not.
Do they deserve to go?
Sure, but it's not realistic to have that many players from one team playing in the mid-summer classic.
But, if you think not being selected an All-Star doesn't matter and what's important is the ultimate team goal, you can argue both ways.
Sure, winning a World Series means everything and it's the biggest reason why you play a team sport. You win a World Series and you pretty much own that city for the rest of your life.
However, the one thing I've always argued when it comes to being named an All-Star is that it is an important thing in the career of a Major League baseball player.
When you walk into the plaque room at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, what is the first thing you read on all the players' plaques?
Yep, how many times were they named an All-Star.
Carl Yastrzemski, an 18-time All-Star... Roberto Clemente, a 15-time All-Star... all the way from Aaron to Yaz.
So, yes, it does mean a lot.
Actually, it's huge.
It's how these outstanding players are remembered. Period.
So when you hear a player feeling "snubbed" or a teammate complaining as to why the guy next to him didn't make it just think about that.
It does matter.
