Mariners Win, But the All-Star Vote Shows Fans Have Already Lost Their Minds
Alright, Emerald City! You gotta love a Wednesday night win, right? Our M's just handled the Orioles, snagging a solid 3-1 victory. Cal and Julio doing their thing, T-Mobile Park was buzzing! But hold up, because while our boys are grinding, the MLB All-Star fan vote results dropped Monday, and honestly, it looks like a whole lot of fans have lost their minds. Seriously. This isn't about who's playing the best anymore; it's a full-on popularity contest, and the consequences? Well, the wrong players might start the All-Star Game. We need to talk.The NL Outfield Is Officially a Mess
Let's dive into the National League first. At catcher, Drake Baldwin of the Braves is crushing it. He's leading Will Smith by about 310,000 votes, and with a .303 average, 13 homers in 48 games, he deserves it, even after missing some time. Freddie Freeman is also rightly up there at first, just 70,000 ahead of Matt Olson, who's been stellar. Max Muncy at third? He's 100% the best player and leading the ballot box. Even CJ Abrams at short is top-notch, though Mookie Betts, who's been struggling and hurt, is too close for comfort, only 12,000 votes behind. But then we hit the outfield, and oh man, this is where it gets absolutely ridiculous. Andy Páges, Ronald Acuña, and Brandon Marsh are currently running 1-2-3. What?! According to Fangraphs WAR, the real top performers are Pete Crow-Armstrong, James Wood, and Corbin Carroll. None of those guys are even in the top seven! James Wood is the closest, but he's still 230,000 votes behind third place. This isn't about performance; it's about name recognition, and it means there's little justice happening before this phase ends on June 25. Seriously, fans, wake up!The American
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League Is Not Making Sense Either Over in the American League, we've got some head-scratchers too. Shea Langeliers of the Athletics, leading his position by over 400,000 votes, absolutely deserves to be there. He's been the best, no doubt. Dillon Dingler of the Tigers has also had an almost equally good first half, and should make the finals. Ernie Clement of the Blue Jays is leading Ezequiel Duran by a mind-blowing 600,000-plus votes at second base, which is actually a fitting final pair. Bobby Witt Jr. for the Royals is running away with shortstop, and rookie Kevin McGonigle could still make it interesting. But listen to this: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays, despite a "disappointing first half," is leading Ben Rice of the Yankees by 90,000 votes at first base! Ben Rice and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics are the most deserving players! Kurtz is 330,000 votes behind Vlad, which is just insane. And while Yordan Alvarez is the righteous leader at DH, with Yandy Díaz breathing down George Springer's neck, the fact that fans are voting for legacy over current performance for Vlad is just wild. Miguel Vargas of the White Sox deserves to be in the finals at third, but he's 230,000 votes behind. Sox fans, it's time to get to work! So, yeah, the All-Star ballot is a trip. While it's cool to see some deserving players leading, there's a serious disconnect happening, especially in the outfield and at AL first base. This first phase of voting wraps up on June 25, so there's still time for some common sense to kick in. And for us? Let's just say we need to make sure our own Mariners are getting the love they deserve on future ballots. You know Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez are out there doing the work. Let's keep that T-Mobile energy high and make sure the best players actually get to play! Go M's!This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.