Fernando Rodneyof theSeattle Marinersshould be on the 2014 American League All-Star team. Thanks to baseball’s flawed system that allows the fans to vote, the managers are forced to rebalance the teams with players that actually deserve to be on the squad.
In addition, you have the every-club-needs-a-representaive rule, which tends to put a few players on the team that are a little iffy. Admittedly, I liked the rule in the 70s and early 80s when the Mariners were terrible and I never got to see them on the national stage except with their token All-Star selection. However, this rule definitely has some downsides.
Back to Rodney. It just seems appropriate to the American League saves leader on the team. Saves are not the only measure of effectiveness for a closer, but they are a fairly important factor to consider.
IsSean Doolittleof the Oakland A’s better than Rodney this year? How aboutDellin Betancesof the New York Yankees? I would say that Betances is one of those token representative things but the Bronx Bombers already haveMasahiro Tanaka(Don’t you dare make him the starter,John Farrell) andDerek Jeter(Aw-shucks-we’re-going-to-miss-you-selection).
It is also hard to pickGlen Perkinsof the Minnesota Twins over Rodney, and the Twins already haveKurt Suzukias a backup catcher. Maybe the feeling was that the Mariners had too many players already. After all, it isn’t possible for the All-Star roster to be loaded with Mariners, right?
There is still time, and roster changes to occur. Players get hurt or bow out so perhaps Rodney will end up on the squad, much like his teammateKyle Seager.
If there is an open spot on the Al-Star roster,Fernando Rodneyshould be selected. Besides, Rodney would be much more fun to watch if he were to convert the save for the American League.
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