Congratulations to Pete Alonso for being chosen as the Mets’ representative to the All-Star game. This will be the third time in a row Alonso has made the All-Star team and the fourth selection in his career.
It’s just hard for me to believe that anyone feels like Alonso is anywhere close to being the best choice to represent the Mets. Now, these things often come down to a type of jigsaw puzzle, where you have to make the roster fit based on who’s having good years for the other clubs in the league. But we can understand that aspect and still be disappointed with the choice.
In terms of players who deserve to be there representing the Mets, my opinion is that Alonso isn’t close to the best choice.
You can say it’s a coin flip between Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo as to which one deserves the nod. Lindor has the best fWAR on the team, due to being a plus fielder at the toughest spot on the diamond. Nimmo’s case rests on having the best wRC+ on the team among those with enough PA to qualify for the leaderboards.
But if we expand our selection base to include those with fewer PA, a case could be made for both Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos being more worthy for selection. Alvarez has been tremendous on both sides, with a 146 wC+ at the plate and outstanding results from the pitching staff when he does the catching. And Vientos’ 156 wRC+ is 30 points above Alonso’s mark.
And if Alvarez had been healthy all year, we might be making a case for Sean Manaea to make the All-Star team. Alvarez has a strong 3.43 ERA this year overall. But with eight games with Alvarez behind the plate, Manaea has a 1.33 ERA. Entering action on Sunday, the best ERA in the majors was the 2.21 of Seth Lugo and the best in the NL was the 2.58 of Ranger Suarez.
Happy for Alonso, but for Pete’s sake, Nimmo getting his first all star nod would have been the right thing to do. He has played well from the start and has matured as a player and continues to improve. Clearly they needed to pull a bigger name as the lone representative, like one who might join the home run derby again. Makes for entertaining TV. Scott for the series win and a step above .500!
Will Sammon this morning in The Athletic. I found this quote rather telling:
“One thing I’ve tried to make a point of is getting the guys together for a dinner on the road trips,” Nimmo said. “I was like, you know what? It would be good for us to just take them out to a big-league dinner, all of us get together, it’s on me or Francisco. Francisco and I as leaders, just getting the guys together more and worrying about the other guys a little bit more. Don’t get me wrong. I still have to take care of what I am doing. But I’ve had a lot of time here now so it’s trying to pass that on to the next guys and help in any way you can.
“Francisco and I are in the position where we want to take the guys out and we want to build some camaraderie. … It has felt emotionally tangible. And then seeing some results on the field is nice as well.”
Alonso was selected as a reserve at first base along with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman behind starter Bryce Harper. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Christian Walker qualified as one of the biggest snubs because he has the third-highest fWAR among first basemen in the National League (2.9) behind Harper (3.9) and Freeman (3.3) with a better OPS (.857) and more home runs (22) than Alonso (.792 OPS, 18 home runs).
For me, this is a non-story. I would rather that Nimmo and Lindor get a breather and come back fresh for the second half. I do get that the honor of being selected and the chance to share a clubhouse with some of the game’s biggest stars is important personally to the players, however.
Glad Alvarez isn’t going. Given the Mets luck with these types of games he’d probably get Ray Fosse’d.
Dan, why do you think it’s a non-story, especially when both Lindor and Nimmo have expressed disappointment and exasperation at not being invited? Lindor has not been at all since being a Met and his numbers aren’t too different from his Cleveland days, and Nimmo has never been one. As for your second point, about sharing the clubhouse with the best players, I do agree that reward and recognition from your peers is important to psyche for anyone doing a job. It refreshes us going forward. With games not starting until Friday, they will be pretty freshened.
Gotta think MLB selected Pete for the All star game as a reward for his prior and continued participation in the HR derby.
HRs are sexy. Walks aren’t. That’s why Alonso got the nod instead of Nimmo. Lindor hasn’t gotten a nod in NY because his All-Star break numbers have been depressed by his abysmal Aprils (batted .197 this April and .218 last).