MLB: Predicting the 2017 All-Star Game Starters
By Anthony Sosa
The MLB Midsummer Classic is full of stars across the 30 teams. There are players who make the team nearly every year and there are also surprise breakout players that earn their spots on the squad. Fans vote for the position players they think deserve to start in the All-Star Game. Who will earn the starting spots in the 2017 ASG?
The 2017 All-Star Game will be the first time since 2002 that the game is “meaningless.” From 2003 to 2016 the league that won the game received home-field advantage in the World Series. After the infamous tie in the 2002 ASG, MLB added the advantage to prevent another tie. The newly agreed upon CBA eliminated that reward for the winning league.
It’s a high honor to make an ASG whether it’s by fan vote or the league manager’s decision. Although there now might be more players that decide not to play in the game and instead rest, due to the game not impacting anything.
Since the fan vote allows fans to vote for any starting position player, there is usually a controversial player that makes a starting spot. Last season, that controversial player was Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell. Cubs fans voted in an all-Cub infield, but many fans disagreed with the selection of Russell.
Will there be any controversy surrounding the starters in 2017? Here is a prediction of who is going to start at each position for both leagues in the 2017 ASG in Miami.