Tigers Fans Neglecting Their All-Star-Game Duty
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Here are the number of Tigers – pitchers excluded – who are wholly deserving of starting in next month's All-Star Game: four.
And here are the number of Tigers who would take the field at Petco Park if the game started today: none. Zilch. Nada.
Before fans begin grumbling about the injustices of the voting system, they ought to remember that they are the voting system. They decide who receives an invitation to the Midsummer Classic. If they don't want to watch an All-Star Game that leaves their favorite players at home, they don't have to.
They can stuff the ballots to their hearts' content (well, 35 times at the most), they can trigger a tidal wave of Detroit propaganda, they can band together like Kansas City Royals fans to make sure every single hometown player is an All-Star Game starter. Or, perhaps more reasonably, they can come to the honest support of the four Tigers who deserve it.
First, there's Ian Kinsler. In the midst of the finest season of his eleven-year career, Kinsler has been the Tigers' unquestioned MVP through the first 63 games of the season. He leads the team in home runs, RBI and hits, and has played terrific defense at second base. No other American League second baseman ranks as high in as many offensive categories as Kinsler, who drives in runs, gets on base and crosses home plate more consistently than any of his counterparts.
And yet…and yet Kinsler ranks a distant fifth among second basemen in the latest voting tally, which was released Tuesday afternoon. Ahead of him, by a wide margin, are Jose Altuve, who has scored fewer runs; Robinson Cano, whose 18 home runs and 51 RBI are let down by a lesser average; Dustin Pedroia, whose numbers pale in comparison; and Omar Infante, which is just silly. Kinsler, again, is the only AL second basemen who ranks in the top three of every major offensive category, and somehow he is a mere footnote on the All-Star Game ballot.
Next, there's Nick Castellanos. The Tigers' third baseman is enjoying a breakout season, one that's going largely unnoticed by the fans. With a .304 average, 12 home runs and 37 RBI through 60 games, he is on pace for the finest season of his three-year career. His .537 slugging percentage ranks second among AL third basemen, while his .871 OPS and 69 hits each rank third. Like Kinsler, Castellanos stuffs the offensive stat sheet without discrimination, hitting for average and power without sacrificing one for the other.
And yet…and yet Castellanos is fifth at his position in the latest ballot. Josh Donaldson, who is hitting an unsightly .255, and Adrian Beltre, not much better at .271, have both received more votes. So has Mike Moustakas, who, uhm, is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Leading the pack is Manny Machado, the only AL third basemen who does as much as Castellanos as well as Castellanos. If fans around the league can't acknowledge that, it's up to Tigers' fans to let it be known.
Thirdly, there's Victor Martinez. After an injury-plagued 2015 season that seemed to presage more of the same, Martinez has bounced back in a back way in 2016. He has been the Tigers' leading hitter for more than a month, raking at a .333 clip on the season. The power numbers don't quite compare, but anyone who suggested Martinez was on the decline entering this year has had their words thrust back in their face by the smooth-swinging DH.
And yet…and yet Martinez ranks third among designated hitters for an invitation to San Diego. He is lagging behind Kendrys Morales, which is almost as silly as that Omar Infante farce, and David Ortiz, who is simply running away with the vote in the swansong to a terrific career. Martinez won't catch Ortiz at this point, but he certainly deserves to be his backup if A.L. manager Ned Yost chooses to go in that direction.
Finally, there's Miguel Cabrera. There's always Miguel Cabrera. The untiring first baseman is doing what he's always done for the Tigers, which is to say he's making an incredibly difficult sport look impossibly easy. Indeed, no one, at first base or anywhere, is as effortless a hitter as Cabrera. His .295 average, 12 home runs and 36 RBI are on a more pedestrian level than we're used to, but that speaks to his stratospheric standards more than anything else. Even in a relatively subpar season, Cabrera is still at the top of the positional heap in nearly every offensive category.
And yet…and yet Cabrera still trails Eric Hosmer by a significant margin for the starting nod at first base. The two players are having remarkably similar seasons, and – like Castellanos and Machado – are hands-down the best all-around hitters at their position. The statistical difference between the two of them is minuscule, but it favors Hosmer at the moment. Still, with Cabrera liable to go on a tear at any moment that may change in the weeks leading up to the All-Star Game. Perhaps Tigers' fans can give him a spark by filling out a few more ballots.
So those are the stakes as All-Star voting winds to a close. Despite having a handful of deserving players, the Tigers, as it stands now, will not be represented in the American League's starting lineup. If their fans object to that idea, they can grumble and groan or they can protest in a way that will make a difference.
