Stick it to the man. Vote Alex Rodriguez onto the All Star team. A-Rod! A-Rod! A-Rod!

Nelson Cruz, Ryan Braun and Melky Cabrera are starting in the All Star game  And Alex Rodriguez is still in exile.  See my previous post:

Alex Rodriguez: make it 100 games, 35 more than any of the others served in 2013. Bring back A-Rod!  Monday, June 23, 2014

Nelson Cruz, Orioles, in Baltimore
April 3, 2014 by Keith Allison
via Wikimedia Commons

Actually you cannot vote for Alex Rodriguez, at least not online.  The part of the voting form for a write-in candidate forces you to choose from a list of players who match the name you type.  I tried Alex Rodriguez and Babe Ruth.  Neither worked.

The voting criteria below does not seem to restrict one from voting for a person not currently playing in the Major Baseball League (MBL).  For instance can you vote for an injured player?  No, I tried. Too bad.  So, we cannot vote for Alex Rodriguez who is suspended for the entire 162 game regular season and the the tournament that follows.  Argh!  Was it this way in previous seasons or was this ballot made A-Rod proof?

ALL*STAR GAME 2014 BALLOT

In each league, you may select one player for each infield position and up to three outfielders. For the American League, you can also vote for a designated hitter. "Write-in" votes may be entered in the area provided at the bottom. When you have made your AL and NL selections, continue to the next page. For more information, read about the ballot.

Voting ends at 11:59 PM ET Thursday, July 3, 2014.

Login and connect your ballot registration to your MLB.com account to receive an additional 10 more ballots, for a total of 35 ballots.

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You can't make up stuff like this.  THIRTY-FIVE ballots.  They encourage you to vote 35 times.  And that's without cheating.  And remember, this game determines which team gets home field and home rule (DH) advantage in a possible seventh and deciding game in the tournament finals of the MBL.  This is double unique compared to the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) since they actually have the same rules in both conferences.  MBL commissioner Allan Huber "Bud" Selig has made his All Star game special.

Alex Rodriguez is an active player! At least according to baseball-reference.com  Saturday, April 5, 2014

career list (home runs) ... for active players ...

The top twenty is generally interesting but look at number one.  The suspended pariah Alex Rodriguez!

I sent this to a friend and received this reply: "Very USSR like.  Comissar Bud has written him out of history."  ...

Let's check another leader list at that website, National batting average (BA) in 2012:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/2012-batting-leaders.shtml

(the) batter who had fewer than the required number of plate appearance (PA) to qualify but who had the highest BA in the entire MBL.  Come on, you know who I mean.  Come on down:

Melky Cabrera!

Melky played only that 2012 season with the San Francisco Giants.  He was the MVP in the All Star game, which the Nationals won, which also provided home field and home rule (designated hitter (DH)) advantage to the National team in the event that the tournament finals went to a game seven.  Coincidentally, the Giants won the tournament but in only four games.

Melky was suspended for using PED as were Rodriguez and Ryan Braun in 2013; Braun is listed third on that 2012 BA list...

His Giants were so humiliated by his behavior that they did not want him back.  The Giants did not, however, bow out of the tournament, nor did Selig vacate their wins with Melky playing as I recommended, nor outright ban the Giants from tournament play for the next three years as might have happened had they been a college football team.  That would be punishing the innocent with the guilty.  Those innocent players were OK with keeping their team wins and personal runs scored and RBI that resulted from Melky's drug induced enhanced performance.

Melky does not have black ink for his .346 BA in 2012.  Why?  Because Melky's agent on Melky's behalf published an apology for his behavior and asked that Melky not be considered for the honor of BA leadership...

I pointed out at the time on this blog that BA was a stat not an honor but that distinction was lost ...

What was odd at the time was that baseball-reference.com went along with this, which makes its inclusion of Alex Rodriguez among active players all the more puzzling.  It seems like an honor to be listed as the career leader in HR for active players.
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http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140622&content_id=81150586&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb

CATCHER
1. Matt Wieters - injured

SHORTSTOP
1. Derek Jeter - a shadow of his former self

DESIGNATED HITTER
Nelson Cruz, Orioles -- 2,457,349 PED user; suspended 50 games in 2013
David Ortiz, Red Sox -- 1,652,470 user?

OUTFIELD
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays -- 3,665,208
Mike Trout, Angels -- 3,286,511
Melky Cabrera, Blue Jays -- 1,674,232 PED user; suspended 50 games in 2012

Melky Cabrera and Nelson Cruz will start the All Star game for the American Conference.  And Ryan Braun will start for the National Conference.  What the heck?

A-Rod!  A-Rod!  A-Rod!