Days before the MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta, Major League Baseball made a decision about the roster that is turning heads — for the wrong reasons. The leagueadded Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski to the National League All-Star teamon Friday to replaceCubs starter Matthew Boyd, who pitched Saturday. Misiorowski has started five games in the big leagues and now holds the record for fewest starts by a player to make an All-Star team. The All-Star Game is an exhibition. We know that, and in the grand scheme of a baseball season, it doesn't have major significance outside of entertainment for fans and a showcase for players. Even so, the fact that it doesn't hold much weight in terms of the season doesn't mean it lacks importance. The main goal of the Midsummer Classic is to recognize the players who have performed at a high level through the first half of the MLB season. With that, it also allows fans to see the stars of the game they might not watch on a regular basis. But by adding Misiorowski to the NL All-Star roster, MLB has sent a message to players that not only does the game not matter, but performance doesn't matter, either. Selections to play in the All-Star Game should be based on merit and production from the season's first half. The reality is thatthere will always be snubs. But this selection feels different than your ordinary snub. At this point in the process, days before the All-Star festivities, it's a given that some adjustments will need to be made, with players injured, unavailable to pitch Tuesday or opting for rest. But adding a rookiewho debuted a month ago, as opposed to going down the list to find a more deserving starter, sends the wrong message. The player who had the best case to replace Boydwould've been Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez. Sánchez —who pitched Sundayand was therefore unavailable to pitch Tuesday in the All-Star Game — currently ranks 10th among qualified starters in ERA, 16th in strikeouts and eighth in fielding independent pitching (FIP). Sánchez's teammate,Ranger Suárez, also a strong candidate to head to Atlanta, reportedly declined to go. In the hubbub around Misiorowski, some might point toPittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenesbeing selected and starting for the National League in the All-Star Game last season as a comparable situation. While there are similarities, those are largely very different situations. To be fair, Skenes didn't have as many starts or innings pitched as other NL All-Stars last year, and he then had the fewest starts by a player to make an All-Star team, with 11. But that's still more than twice as many starts as Misiorowski has made this season, and Skenes had thrown almost three times as many innings (66 1/3 IP vs. 25 2/3 IP). He had also been the most dominant starter in baseball for more than two months at the time of his selection. It's important to note that we do not know how many National League starters were invited by MLB and declined before the league reached out to Misiorowski. That list might be longer than many fans realize. At the same time, it's a safe bet that there were qualified NL starters with more than 25 innings pitched who were not asked. Another factor here is that even though the All-Star Game doesn't have ramifications for the season (anymore), All-Star selections are still important to players. When we talk about greatness in baseball, All-Star appearances are part of the conversation. When BBWAA members consider candidates for the Hall of Fame, All-Star appearances are part of the conversation. When we as a baseball community compare players from different eras, All-Star appearances are part of the conversation. And some players, including Sánchez, have incentives and bonuses in their contracts tied to All-Star appearances — which, according to reports, the Phillies will honor. Given something as significant as contract incentives, shouldn't the merit of the players selected be of utmost importance? Unfortunately, in this case, MLB opted to go the route of entertainment over merit. To his credit, Misiorowskiis the definition of a baseball phenom. His stuff is electric, and he has been a driving force behind the Brewers' recent success. But again, he has appeared in five major-league games. Whether or not people care about the All-Star Game's importance, it's still meaningful to many players. But how are players supposed to stay invested in this exhibition if they don't believe their performance is determining who goes? And how do you get fans to care if they don't believe All-Star selections are authentic? None of this is Misiorowski's fault. He has done nothing wrong — quite the opposite — and he isn't responsible for his own selection. But sadly, he has now been put in an awkward position by the league, at the center of a conversation he likely wishes he weren't part of. At the end of the day, the All-Star Game will go on as scheduled, and most people probably won't give this matter a second thought after the game. Still, this was an unforced error by Major League Baseball that not only sends the wrong message to players and fans but also sets a bad precedent for the future.
