Three Mariners’ All Star Team Snubs

Every year, deserving players are left off of the All Star team because fans can’t be trusted to assemble the best roster for their league. Which Mariners were most deserving of All Star glory but missed out?

Not only are fans usually idiots when it comes to All Star team voting, they always leave a deserving Mariner or two off the American League team roster every year. While this year’s team doesn’t have too many egregious injustices (see Holt, Brock last year), there were a few Mariners who put up All Star-caliber numbers this year but didn’t get voted in, despite my 30 votes in their favor.

This year, the American League All Star team is dominated by Red Sox, as is justly deserved. Robinson Cano was the sole Mariner elected to the squad this year after slashing .313/.368/.555 and leading the league in total bases in the first half. He was a no-brainer for the All Star team at second base, even though he was no match for Giancarlo Stanton in yesterday’s Home Run Derby (nobody was). Here are three other Mariners who should have gotten more All Star team consideration:

Nelson Cruz

Let’s start with the obvious. For some reason, the MLB chose four National League parks in a row to host the All Star Game. Last season we didn’t see a Designated Hitter, but this season, at Petco Park, home of the Padres, both teams will have a DH. Cruz has played in right field many times this season, but in a DH year, how was he left off the All Star team?

Cruz has slashed .280/.366/.543 with 23 home runs this season. This will be the first time in four seasons he will be left off of the All-Star team. This year’s team is actually well chosen, with no obvious names that Cruz is better than, but he could have replaced Carlos Beltran, ex-Mariner Michael Saunders (who got on the team in the final vote), and Ian Desmond–all of whom have similar or slightly less impressive first-half stats than Cruz.

Kyle Seager

Seager is one of three players in the Mariners’ lineup with an OPS over .900. He’s on pace to set career highs in home runs, doubles, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging. The last time Seager made the All Star team was in 2014, when he finished the year with 25 home runs. He already has 18 this year.

Josh Donaldson and Manny Machado are excellent third basemen, and maybe this year is a case of the competition being too stiff for Seags, but in the middle of his best season yet in the big leagues, Seager is deserving of a place on the All Star team.

Steve Cishek

Cishek has been wild and rocked by the longball in recent games, but on the whole he’s been the most reliable reliever outside of the rookie Edwin Diaz in the Mariners bullpen this year. His 21 saves rank fourth in the American League. Again, there is stiff competition this year with Brad Brach and his microscopic 0.91 ERA and Yankees flamethrowers Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller all making the All Star team as non-closing relievers, but Cishek deserves some consideration.

Jose Quintana made the team after all after injuries opened a spot for him. Quintana has been effective this year to be sure, but does AL manager Ned Yost really need another starter to pitch an inning or two (maybe) in this game? He might have been better off with another late-innings reliever like Cishek. I guess we’ll see tonight.

Here are two sad facts about the Mariners: 1. They finished over .500 before the All Star break for the first time since 2010 after beating the Royals in the final game before the break to finish the first half 45-44. 2. Despite this success, they’re only sending one player to the Midsummer Classic to represent them on the AL All Star team, as I mentioned earlier.

Next: Mariners Midseason Awards

Catch the All Star game tonight at 5:16 p.m. on Fox and root for Cano!