Corey Dickerson is advocating for Major League Baseball and its players association to change the All-Star Game selection process.
Dickerson, the Pirates' starting left fielder, was not among those selected to participate in the 89th midsummer classic, and he's joined a chorus of players questioning a system that picks the 32-man rosters through online fan voting, paper ballots for players and the commissioner's office.
The problem, Dickerson said, is an uninformed voting base, and he used the exclusion of two of his former teammates as examples of how the system is broken.
"There's not enough information out there to inform the fan or the individual about how well the player has done overall as a complete player," Dickerson told DKPittsburghSports.com Monday afternoon. "How much has he struck out and struggled? How good is he defensively? All those factors that I feel like everybody isn’t more educated on. A lot of people say if your team stinks you don’t deserve an All-Star, but people don’t realize how hard it is to perform on a losing or struggling team. It’s way harder to perform. The information, like I said, that’s the hardest part about it. A lot of players work really hard. It means a lot to players."
Fans vote for the starters on both teams. However, in accordance with the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement, players are responsible for selecting a total of 16 players for the NL and 17 for the AL. The commissioner's office fills in the rest of the roster — five in the AL and seven in the NL — and two additional players are selected through the final vote. Plus, each team must have at least one player selected.
The managers — A.J. Hinch of the Astros and Dave Roberts of the Dodgers — are no longer responsible for picking the reserves. That changed with the latest CBA. Instead, they're responsible for the batting order, while the NL manager also picks the team's designated hitter.
Tampa starting pitcher Blake Snell, a teammate of Dickerson's in 2016 and 2017, was not selected despite leading the AL in ERA. Also, Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino, whom Dickerson played with from 2013 through 2015, did not make the roster, despite his 1.79 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 41 innings.
Current and former players expressed outrage on social media about omissions from the roster, particularly Snell. Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer was the most vocal opponent of the process, challenging the players' "due diligence."
????!!!! @snellzilla11 @MLB @MLB_PLAYERS pic.twitter.com/yeyw5T2BqH
— Chris Archer (@ChrisArcher22) July 8, 2018
Dickerson texted Archer on Monday morning to express support over his campaign to get Snell on the team. After all, Archer did the same for Dickerson last season, when Dickerson was among the leading vote-getters as a designated hitter. That campaign was successful, as Dickerson received his first All-Star nod after batting .312 with a .909 OPS and 17 home runs through July 8.
The issue now hits close to home for Dickerson since both he and Francisco Cervelli were excluded this season, as Felipe Vazquez was selected as the Pirates' lone All-Star. Dickerson’s .310 average ranks first among qualified left fielders in the major leagues, and he’s posted a .341 on-base percentage with a .458 slugging percentage.
But he’s walked only 10 times in 317 plate appearances and has only six home runs. The Rockies' Charlie Blackmon, the Brewers' Lorenzo Cain and the Brewers' Christian Yelich were chosen as reserve outfielders. Meanwhile, Cervelli was omitted despite leading all NL catchers in on-base percentage (.392) and ranking second in OPS (.868) behind the Marlins’ J.T. Realmuto. He’s thrown out 11 runners attempting to steal, which is the second-highest total in the NL, and has hit a career-high nine home runs with 36 RBIs.
Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar, Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr., Astros starting pitcher Charlie Morton and Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario were among those snubbed because of roster requirements, including that each team must have at least one All-Star.
Aguilar, Brandon Belt, Matt Carpenter, Max Muncy and Trae Turner are final vote candidates in the NL, while Rosario, Andrew Benintendi, Jean Segura, Andrelton Simmons and Giancarlo Stanton are eligible in the AL.
"The numbers speak for themselves," Clint Hurdle said of Cervelli's exclusion. "The numbers are real. The OPS, the on-base percentage. When was the last time a catcher had an on-base percentage of .390 and an OPS of way over .800? The home runs and the RBIs. Sometimes absence from the lineup, time away from the DL. I don’t know how that plays out. You’ve got three different bodies picking the teams. There’s that to take in. You wish for guys to have that kind of first half make it. [Cervelli] didn’t as of yet. Who knows what can happen as you continue to play? Dickerson’s had a solid first half, and yeah, you pull for your guys because they’re your guys. The reality of it is they didn’t get announced the first time, so you move on."
Well, neither Dickerson nor others around the league are ready to move on. He will consider accepting an invitation if a replacement is needed, but he wants the players association and MLB to take a closer look at the system, including how players vote. Approximately three weeks ago, paper ballots were distributed to players across the league and were mailed to the league office. Statistics weren't listed, and the process was done so far in advance that performances in July can't be considered.
Plus, players aren't always knowledgable about how others are performing around the league, particularly those in other divisions. That, Dickerson said, is why all involved need to find a better way to inform both the voting public and even the players under consideration.
"Is it the best player represented for each team? It’s not fair," Dickerson said of the players using paper ballots. "You see guys doing really well, but you tend to not really think about them too much because you aren’t playing them six times a year. You lose track of what they’re doing. It’s tough. It’s definitely tough. I know Ottavino and Snell make it on reserve lists, but it’s still not the same. ... It should be more about the numbers and information."