The MLB All-Star teams were announced on Sunday and the selections resulted in snubs like always. While leaving Joey Votto off the NL team was by far the most egregious error, adding Omar Infante to the team easily qualifies as one of the worst All-Star decisions I’ve ever seen. See, every year a player or two makes the All-Star game when they don’t deserve to be there — it’s usually the result of the rule that all teams must have a representative in the game. Charlie Manuel’s decision to add Omar Infante had nothing to do with this usual issue; it was a sole act of idiocy on the part of Manuel. In what has to be a first ever, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel added a utility infielder to the All-Star team. The selection was so ridiculous and asinine that even Omar Infante himself was stunned by the news:
“I got a call from [General Manager] Frank Wren, and the first thought I had was that I got traded,” Infante said through an interpreter. “I was kind of nervous and choked up. By the time Frank told me I was going to the All-Star game, I thought he was joking around. It took, like, five minutes for me to realize I’m going to the All-Star game.”
That’s because he has no business going there! I’m not out to knock Infante nor his value and contributions to the Braves; Infante’s having a good year and he’s an important piece for Atlanta, having played five positions this year. But utility men have no place at an All-Star game. Infante has no business being on the roster while Joey Votto and his NL best OPS has to pray he wins a fan vote. If Charlie Manuel really wanted to add another middle infielder to the team then he should have gone with Rafael Furcal, Dan Uggla, or Rickie Weeks. Any of those guys belonged on the All-Star team. But Omar Infante? Maybe give him a team award at the end of the season like “Most Inspirational Player” or something. Just don’t put him on the All-Star team especially when so many other players are far more deserving.
Sources:
Five Braves named All-Stars, including Infante [Atlanta Journal Constitution]
Photo Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
