All-Star voting always provides an opportunity for fans to get a bit mischievous, and baseball fans are no different.
One fan on Reddit suggested in a post that has since been deleted that fans coalesce around John Bormann, a catcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system. Bormann was an emergency call-up on April 30, with the team needing a warm body after Francisco Cervelli got hurt. Bormann was with the team’s Single-A affiliate in Bradenton, the closest minor league affiliate to Miami, where the team was set to play that evening. Bormann was called up, struck out in one at bat, and then sent right back to Bradenton.
However, as Samer Kalaf of Deadspin notes, it still means Bormann has big league experience, which could make him an All-Star. The league office clarified that the only prerequisite is that a player must be on an active roster on the final day of games before the All-Star Game. Bormann isn’t, and probably won’t be, but if a viral marketing campaign began, the Pirates could take notice and make it so. Major League Baseball also has the power to veto any fan vote if they see fit to.
The campaign doesn’t look to have gained traction, and isn’t really a campaign, even — more an idea floated online. It probably won’t get far, but there is precedent for All-Star balloting campaigns for players who don’t really belong.
