José Berríos An All-Star, Eddie Rosario Still Has A Chance

On Sunday evening, Major League Baseball announced the rosters for the 2018 All-Star Game. José Berríos, the Minnesota Twins’ best pitcher and a rising star in the league, made the game.

Berríos is deserving, he’s one of the dozen-or-so best starters in the American League, and his best games rival the best games of any other pitcher.

But I’m not going to lie. I’m mad that Eddie Rosario didn’t make it. I want to be able to celebrate the naming of Berríos to the team, but it’s hard when Eddie Rosario was robbed.

I already wrote at length about how Eddie Rosario was getting ignored in the All-Star fan vote, but this enters new territory. The reserves for the game are chosen by the players and the managers around the league. This feels like an actual lack of respect for Rosario’s talent.

Of course, the Twins didn’t do Rosario any favors by struggling so mightily in the first half of the season, but Rosario’s numbers speak for themselves.

Just as he was when I wrote my last article, Rosario is fourth in WAR among American League outfielders. His batting average is fifth, and his home runs are sixth. No outfielder selected as a reserve is higher in both of those categories. He’s also been the best baserunner of all American League outfielders.

But at least he has the chance to make it on the Final Vote. He just has to get more votes than Giancarlo Stanton, one of the most recognizable players in the league and a New York Yankee. Stanton has more homers (by three) and walks (13) than Rosario, but the Twin has the advantage in nearly every other category. He deserves to get more votes, but it seems unlikely.

And if he somehow does, he’ll also have to get more votes than Andrew Benintendi of the Boston Red Sox. As with Stanton, Benintendi trails Rosario in most categories. Though Benintendi has a more significant edge in the important stat of on-base percentage. Again, it seems unlikely Rosario has enough to edge out the Bostonian.

Oh, he’ll also have to beat Andrelton Simmons and Jean Segura. Both very exciting players, with the latter playing for the Seattle Mariners, who are starting to get some national attention.

So it seems that Rosario needs some help. First, all Twins fans can help by voting. “Vote early, vote often” is the old saying, and it will certainly help in this scenario.

The more likely effective approach is to make friends. In past years, an American League and a National League franchise have befriended each other to vote for each other’s players.

The most likely pairing for Rosario is Jesus Aguilar of the Milwaukee Brewers. Midwestern, “flyover country” angst can provide the perfect glue to bind the fanbases together.

If that falls flat because of some Vikings/Packers dispute, that’s fine. Give the San Francisco Giants a try. AT&T Park recently introduced the Juicy Lou, a riff, obviously, off the Juicy Lucy. Say to them, “You’re borrowing our local staple, give us some votes in return.” (Plus, getting in the radius of their even year magic wouldn’t be such a bad idea).

We could even try talking to the Nationals fans. The whole former Washington team and current Washington team connection would be an easy place to start. The only concern would be that they might have too much going on with the whole hosting of the All-Star Game they’re doing this year.

Don’t even try with the Dodgers.

The Cardinals might be worth a shot, but there just isn’t enough of a common bond. The Midwest connection and the Mississippi River might be worth it, but the Cardinals are a little bit bigger than that.

All of this is to say one simple thing, Eddie Rosario deserves to be in the All-Star Game, and we have to get him in. He has a chance of getting in as an injury reserve, but that’s not a bankable strategy. We can celebrate Berríos later, which we really should, but that will come once the rosters are set in stone.

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