Jeter Top All Star Vote Getter?? Seriously??

I couldn’t believe it when I heard that Derek Jeter was the top vote-getter in the American League for the upcoming All Star Game.

When I think of the best players in the AL, Jeter is far from the top of the list. Nothing against Jeet, I like the guy just fine, but what’s the deal?

A few possible explanations include a weak shortstop crop and the fact that Jeter is still wildly popular among the ladies.

I also guess there’s the matter of his having a pretty strong first half, too. Jeter is hitting .316 with 10 homers and 36 RBI. However inflated those numbers may be by the new Yankee Stadium, you can’t knock the guy for performing wherever he’s playing.

But still, #1 in the American League? Joe Mauer still plays in the AL, right? Roy Halladay? Ichiro?

Maybe I’m making a big deal of this – the All Star vote is just a silly popularity contest voted on by fans with too much time on their hands – but I think the top vote-getter should represent the cream of his respective league for that season.

That’s certainly the case in the National League. Albert Pujols, maybe the best player on the planet, led the way in the NL (also, the game will be played in his home park in St. Louis).

In that instance the fans got it right.

With Jeter, I think the fans made a mistake. Does this mean anything in the long run?

No. But it’s an honor that will be counted among his career accomplishments that I feel he didn’t rightfully earn.

I predict that by next year we won’t have this same problem; instead we’ll witness the beginning of a string of voting victories by Mauer in Minnesota.

Matt Estreich for The Huddle