Yasiel Puig for the NL All-Star Team?

OK. He’s only played 30 games in the Major Leagues, but he’s got 50 hits in those 30 games. He’s hitting over .400 with an OPS of 1.155 and eight home runs.

He’s in the fan voting for the final roster spot. Yay or nay?

I say yes. In fact, I already voted for him. We haven’t seen a debut like this in my memory. I don’t take the game too seriously, and I think it’d be fun to see him in it.

If that criteria is valid then Jose Iglesias is just as deserving.

I say yes, and I voted for him a couple of times. This is a nice way to resolve the question about whether he’s played enough games, and he’s exciting and playing exceptionally well. It’s not brain surgery, it’s the All Star Game.

I’m a die-hard Giants fan, and as such hate the Dodgers with every fiber of my being.

Puig should be an All-Star.

If Bruce Bochy is allowed to put Marco Scutaro in the ASG, I don’t care if Puig played only four games, put him in.

If by “just as deserving” you mean “has an OPS .150 points lower,” I agree.

Puig had more hits in his first month than any rookie in baseball history other than Joe DiMaggio. That’s significant to me, but then I am a Dodger fan, so I’m biased.

The other thing that is significant to me is that in his first month he has played well enough to even cause this conversation. If we are talking about a rookie this much after a single month of play, in my mind he should go to the All Star game. IMO the All Star game is a showcase to get casual fans the chance to watch the most exciting players in the game right now, and I don’t think you can argue that Puig isn’t one of the most exciting players right now. Even if he turns into Jeff Francour by the end of the season, right now he is the talk of baseball. He belongs.

The argument that he has only been up a month and so he doesn’t have the track record to play doesn’t work for me. If we are going purely by production in the first half, or by career production, why have fans vote at all? Just pull up the stats and make the teams. (And put in Hanley Ramirez who has been otherworldly when he has played but not gotten the notice that Puig has.)

How about WAR’s of 2.4 & 2.3, then (Puig first)? Iglesias has defensive gifts that Puig can only dream about. Puig’s K/W ratio of 29/5 is not very impressive to me, and not predictive of sustained success even after you boil off the .483 BABIP.

I guess for me it comes down to that the All-Star Game, no matter what MLB wants us to believe, does not count. And I think having Puig there will be more fun than having, for example, Adrian Gonzalez or Freddie Freeman on there. So sure, he gets my vote.

Ian Desmond is probably more worthy, though.

I like the idea of knocking Puig’s .483 BABIP while touting a player with a .457 one. :slight_smile: And I’m one that tends to agree that Puig’s approach will need to change for long-term success.

I say yes. It is the 2013 All Star game, not a Hall of Fame nomination. This isn’t like selecting Tim Tebow to the Pro Bowl just because he has a large fan base. Puig’s had one of the hottest debuts for a batter I’ve seen in close to 30 years of following baseball.

Puig’s exciting and stirred a lot of discussion and attention to baseball. Put him in - the more attention the better.

Too many people in baseball think the game is for them, and they should determine the rosters.

It’s for the fans. If the fans want to see Puig, and they do, then put him in.

Couldn’t agree more. Let the fans decide who they want.

After all, most of the rosters AREN’T decided by the fans. Most of the players are decided upon by the managers/leagues. Giving the fans some say in who goes to the All-Star Game is a critical part of what makes it cool. It’s a very rare case where MLB actually gives the fans’ opinion some sort of weight, and I’m all for that.

No player “Deserves” or “doesn’t deserve” to go to the All-Star game, really. It’s a privilege. If the fans decide they want to see Puig in the game, so what?

But if I may make a case for Puig, he has only played 31 games but he’s been amazing, obviously, putting up Ruthian numbers. Puig’s value in those 31 games is actually quite comparable to the value other good players have put up all year. As of today Baseball Reference credits Puig with 2.2 WAR, which is pretty good for an entire half season, much less a month. This means Puig’s contribution in his 31 games is considered effectively the same as the entire half season’s worth of Edwin Encarnacion, Freddie Freeman, or Francisco Liriano. The fact that Puig is lucky to some extent, and arguing things like his BABIP (as if you needed to know his BABIP or K/W ratio to know he’s not going to keep hitting .407) strike me as being beside the point. Predictive facts and descriptive facts do not always coincide, and Puig’s DESCRIPTIVE stats say he’s been winning ballgames. Maybe he only bats .240 after the All-Star game, but oh well.

Furthermore, IN those 31 games, Los Angeles has played much better than they had before, so Puig’s contribution cannot be said to have been made in a vacuum; he is legitimately improving his team.

Given that, given the fact that there is something to be said for the unique awesomeness of his start, given how it’s a huge story in baseball right now, and then adding on top of that that the fans might WANT him there, I’m struggling to understand why he shouldn’t be there. It’s the All-STAR game, and this amazing new star belongs there.

I would tune into the All Star game if he’s there, but I wouldn’t bother if he’s not.

WAR is one stat, one of few by which they are comparable. But OK. However, this:

…is completely irrelevant. His numbers certainly do suggest a substantial drop-off… but what he’s done in the first half happened, it’s a real thing. He may never slug .600+ or hit .400+ for a month again in his entire life, but he did it in 2013. And that’s what the All-Star voting reflects: how the player performed in fact, not how it is likely he will perform in the future.

Oh, let’s not start assigning things like “educated” and “knowledgeable” to the All-Star Game voting population. Puig’s been a sensation, deservedly so or not - and that’s why he’s gotten the votes.

I used to be very much in favor of giving people All Star Game slots for putting up awesome first-half numbers. It wasn’t until several years ago when I realized that I just want to see the stars and personalities out there, regardless of how well they’re doing that season. I want to hear about Ichiro’s profanity-laden locker room speech before the game every year, even if he’s barely a 4th outfielder in a few years. I want to see Randy Johnson throw over John Kruk’s head. And every now and then, there’s a one-season wonder who lights up the sports section, and is a star for just a brief moment - and I want to see him as well.

Boo to Blue Jays and Braves fans for colluding to get their guys elected. I think the fans should boo Freeman and Delabar if they get into the game because of the shameful behavior of their fans in establishing this terrible precedent.

I voted for Puig, but since the All-Star game is just an exhibition, it rarely bothers me or strikes me as a major injustice when my choices don’t get elected.

Wait a second…in MLB the fans only get to vote for 1 spot???

No, the fans already voted for the starters for AL and NL teams.

Then MLB puts a handful (4?) of other names up for a “final vote”. This one is a lot more liberal in how often you can vote (I think you can even text or tweet you votes or some nonsense). Hence the collusion.