Well it's about damn time everyone came to their senses.
Xander Bogaerts was looking like he was not going to be an All-Start this season and now, he will actually be an All-Star. Amazing how that stuff can work out.
So he got absolutely screwed in the fan vote and the players and coaches voting too. Every team has to have at least on All-Star, so that makes it difficult for guys on good teams to get in. Plus, there's just a lot of folks out there with bad taste in shortstops in other parts of the country.
However, this week news broke that Hunter Pence of the Texas Rangers will not be partaking in the All-Star game this season. Instead, the spot will go to the Red Sox shortstop. Now that's what I'm talking about!
In 83 games played this season, Bogaerts is hitting .297 with 16 home runs and a .922 OPS -- which would be a career-high OPS if the season were to end today. Oh yeah, and he leads the American League with 28 doubles.
Prior to this season, Xander had only been an All-Star once before: in 2016. You know what that means? It means he had been snubbed a few times before this...
Overall, it was a good move for the league to add him to the game. He'll be going to Cleveland alongside Mookie Betts and JD Martinez in addition to manager Alex Cora. None of the three players will be in the starting lineup. But it is also worth noting that Indians manager Terry Francona will be an honorary coach at the game. He used to be Alex Cora's manager, so that's something...
Cora also said he thinks Rafael Devers, Brandon Workman and Christian Vazquez deserved to be picked--and he has a point. But three players is decent for sure.