With the All-Star rosters set to be announced on Saturday, there's been a lot of talk about Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig and whether or not he belongs on the National League team. It's definitely an interesting discussion. Puig's numbers are staggering and, having seen him play in person, I can say that his talent is ridiculous. Those that think he should be on the NL roster definitely have a compelling argument. But if I were NL manager Bruce Bochy, I'd lean towards not picking him.
I totally understand where both sides are coming from, and the points made by each camp are equally valid. The whole point of the All-Star Game is to showcase all of Baseball's greats on the same stage. If it's truly an exhibition to show off the game's best and brightest stars, then Yasiel Puig's inclusion would seem like a no-brainer. People want to see Yasiel Puig. There's no doubt about that.
But the counterargument is that three weeks, as impressive as those three weeks might've been, isn't a large enough body of work. Puig was only called up at the beginning of June. He'll have been in the Majors for a grand total of five weeks when the teams are announced. You can't convince me that a guy who's been in the Majors for five weeks is more deserving of an All-Star selection than somebody who's been out there every day since April.
There's no denying that Yasiel Puig is a singular talent. He's most likely got a lot of All-Star Games in him, and he'll probably start next year in Minnesota. But picking him for the sake of picking him wouldn't be fair to the plenty of other deserving candidates, of which there is no shortage, in the NL outfield. If Puig is selected, who are you keeping home? Carlos Gonzalez? Carlos Gomez? Michael Cuddyer? Gerardo Parra (if any guy's more deserving of going to the All-Star Game than Gerardo Parra, I don't know who it is)? Not to mention Andrew McCutchen, Domonic Brown, Jay Bruce, Hunter Pence, Dexter Fowler, Ryan Braun. And you might end up getting your token Marlin or Cub in the outfield (although I think they'll both end up with a pitcher going). All of this is, of course, assuming that Carlos Beltran, Justin Upton and Bryce Harper hold onto the starting spots.
Chances are at least two or three of those outfielders I mentioned will be left off the roster. For Puig to go, he'd have to take a spot from another. That just doesn't seem right. Not with the type of year that CarGo and Gomez and Parra, among others, have had. Unlike Mike Trout (who was called up in the beginning of May) last year, Puig's most likely not getting selected on the player ballot, which means the selection is completely up to Bochy. And before all the Giants-Dodgers conspiracy theorists get going, keep in mind that this exact same debate took place with Stephen Strasburg in 2010. He made his debut in June and the masses called for his selection, but he (correctly) wasn't named to the All-Star team.
Besides, Bochy's got enough to worry about. He's got to choose a starting pitcher, and a lot of Mets fans are just assuming it's going to be Matt Harvey. There are plenty of fine options, but in this situation, I agree. Matt Harvey should start the All-Star Game. He's plenty deserving, and he represents the home team. The rotation projects out for him to start the Sunday before and, thus, ineligible to pitch. However, Terry Collins has said he'll adjust the rotation if Harvey gets the nod. That alone shows how important this is to the franchise. The Mets aren't good. Give their fans something to cheer about.
A situation that had a chance of snowballing in much the same way was that incredibly misguided online campaign for Mariano Rivera to start. Fortunately, Mariano put an end to that before it got much of a chance to get off the ground. He's not a starter, and he had no interest of symbolically being one just for a day. His rationale is that it wouldn't have been fair to all of the starting pitchers on the American League roster to have a closer start the game. And he was absolutely right. Max Scherzer has earned the All-Star start.
Of course, there's a possibility Mariano Rivera won't pitch in the All-Star Game at all. That's OK. Just like it's OK if Yasiel Puig isn't on the National League roster. If Matt Harvey doesn't start though, that would be wrong. If this were any other year, I'd say "What's the big deal?", but this year is different. The Mets are hosting the All-Star Game for the first time in 50 years and have a pitcher worthy of the starting nod. Choosing a starting pitcher should be a very easy decision for Bruce Bochy.
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