The Undeserving All Star

Atlanta Braves utilityman Omar Infante should be enjoying his selection to his first ever MLB All Star Game, but instead he’s being ridiculed left and right by fans and media alike claiming he’s the “worst” All Star of all time.

Well, to set things straight, Infante isn’t the worst All Star of all time, but he certainly shouldn’t be an All Star.

If fans and media want to blame someone for Infante’s inclusion on the National League’s All Star roster it definitely shouldn’t be Infante but Philadelphia Phillies and National League All Star manager Charlie Manuel.

Players are selected to the All Star game one of three ways. 1) Voted in by the fans for the starting positions and the final roster spot. 2) Selected by their peers. 3) Chosen by the manager of the league. Infante was one of Manuel’s selections for the roster.

Baseball players who don’t deserve to be All Stars generally make the squad on a yearly basis, due to the rule that states that every one of the MLB’s 30 teams must have at least one representative in the game. This is the reason that Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Evan Meek, Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton and Kansas City Royals reliever Joakim Soria made the All Star game rosters.

Infante wasn’t one of these cases. The Braves have four other All Stars (Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, Martin Prado and Tim Hudson) on the roster and are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for having the most players in the National League on the roster. The Braves also have one of the biggest snubs from the game on their team in first baseman Troy Glaus.

Why did Manuel choose Infante for the National League squad?

The answer is really quite simple. Infante is the most flexible player in all of baseball. Infante can literally play any position. He’s played all three outfield positions and all of the infield positions (beside catcher and pitcher) pretty frequently in his career. In a pinch I’m sure Infante could even catch and pitch. Infante’s flexibility would make him useful in an extra inning game like the 15 inning match the game saw two years ago. I believe that it’s pretty unlikely that Infante even sees playing time in the game unless that very situation occurs.

Does Infante’s flexibility mean he deserves to be an All Star?

No.

It’s ridiculous to think that Infante should be an All Star over much more deserving players who were snubbed like Glaus, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, Colorado Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo, Milwaukee Brewers infielder Casey McGehee and New York Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey.

I’m a Braves fan and really like Infante and believe he is an integral part of the team, but he’s just not All Star worthy.