What’s an All-Star Game without snubs?
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell leads the American League with a 2.09 ERA, second only to Jacob deGrom’s 1.79 ERA for the league lead. He is tied for the second-most wins and sits tied for third in quality starts with 14.
With those sort of numbers, it would be reasonable to expect the lefty to be in the conversation to start the big game. Yet, somehow, Snell’s been left off, and teammate Chris Archer took to social media to voice his frustration over the snub.
If that wasn’t enough, he then took to Twitter to illustrate the numbers that he felt should have made Snell’s selection a no-brainer, as well as express his opinion on why Snell was left out.
Players vote for the first five starting pitchers and the first three relievers, so Archer had no problem pointing the finger at his colleagues.
“It’s totally on us & I’m calling out everyone who didn’t take the energy to determine who is most deserving to represent our game in the mid summer classic,” Archer said in the tweet below. “This stuff matters, let’s be better. BLAKE SNELL IS AN ALL STAR, not an alternate, replacement or backup.”
Houston Astros star pitcher Justin Verlander chimed in with a response, citing the use of an archaic method that leaves the players no choice but to vote far too early.
The league sends players ballots in envelopes weeks before the game, and Verlander felt that the use of technology could help the players vote as late as possible with as much up-to-date information as possible.
Early voting might be the culprit behind inclusions like the right-hander’s teammate, Gerrit Cole, who started out the season on fire but has now given up 14 earned runs over his last 29 innings of work and has won just two of his last five starts.
Archer completely agreed with the suggestion, and Snell’s last four starts show why it could have made such a big difference.
Since June 19, Snell has thrown at least seven innings in winning each of his four starts and has given up a total of two earned runs while striking out 35 batters.
If it smells like a snub and looks like a snub, it probably is a snub.
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