Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield made the first All-Star appearance of his career last year, but he feels it would have been the second had it not been for all of the cheating that went on in Houston.
Merrifield spoke openly about how disappointed he was when he was not selected to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game. Jose Altuve was one of the players who was voted in over Merrifield, and the Royals infielder did not hold back when asked about that this week in an interview with Dave O for Clubhouse Conversation.
Whit Merrifield on missing the 2018 ASG: "I'm going to consider myself an All-Star with all this stuff that's come out because Jose Altuve took my spot that game. So we'll put an asterisk by 2018 & on top of it, we'll go ahead and throw in a silver slugger for good measure."
— Clubhouse Convo (@royalsclubhouse) January 22, 2020
Altuve made the All-Star Game every year from 2014-2018, and he also won the Silver Slugger Award in each of those seasons. Merrifield said he’s going to consider himself the Silver Slugger winner for 2018 in addition to an All-Star. Merrifield batted .302 last year with 16 home runs and 74 RBI. Altuve hit .298 with 31 homers and 74 RBI.
If that makes Merrifield feel better, more power to him. However, it’s worth noting that Major League Baseball determined the Astros were guilty of using electronics to steal signs during the 2017 season, but there has been no hard evidence that they did anything in 2018. There were allegations that Houston players took things to the next level last season, but they have already denied that.
Merrifield certainly isn’t the only player who feels cheated by what the Astros did. Heck, city officials in Los Angeles are trying to have the 2017 World Series trophy awarded to the Dodgers. Merrifield can take a number and get in line.
