MLB All-Star Game: Turner and Realmuto Offer Answers to Participation Issues

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DENVER – Shohei Ohtani played two positions on Tuesday. Considering how the All-Star Game unfolds, next year he may have to play nine.

Fourteen players have opted out of this year’s Midsummer Classic, the second biggest ever. (There were 16 in 2011; the following year, the collective agreement made participation largely mandatory.) The league’s flagship event should be a who’s who of the game; instead, sometimes it was more of a who’s that.

In many cases, the absences were legitimate: Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his right ACL on Saturday, and while he still pushed for him to fly to Colorado, the doctors nailed him to the ground. Angels centerfielder Mike Trout has been on the injured list since May 17 with strained right calf. Giants wide receiver Buster Posey sustained a bone contusion to his left thumb on July 4 and has not played since.

But other explanations raised eyebrows throughout the sport. All four Astros – second baseman José Altuve, shortstop Carlos Correa, left fielder Michael Brantley and closest Ryan Pressly – were released in the first All-Star game since the world learned of their system 2017 cheat, citing an evolving series of excuses. Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts hit a home run on Saturday and Sunday but said he was due to miss this week with what he called “nagging” injuries. Mets ace Jacob deGrom said he wanted to “take this time and enjoy it with my family.”

You never know what’s going on with people, especially as we all continue to go through a pandemic. Yet the result of all these denials was that anyone who wanted to see these stars had to step outside the stadium to look at the banners hanging on Blake Street. In a 2020 reversal, the fans were real and the players were cardboard.

“I’m not touching that,” Nationals ace Max Scherzer said of the subject, but a lot of his fellow All-Stars have.

“Being able to come to the All-Star Game should be a privilege,” said DH Twins Nelson Cruz, who made his seventh team and said he never considered not attending. “I don’t think it should be a question whether you want to come or not.”

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was inactive on Tuesday – and replaced on the roster – because he pitched on Sunday. But he made the trip anyway.

“Even though I’m not going to pitch,” he said, “I think it’s part of our responsibility to come and answer questions and play if we’re able to and represent the brand of the game. are elected by your peers, in my opinion you can run. If you’re not hurt, that’s something you probably should do. ”

And star of the week Ohtani was optimistic about what the week had in store for him – he competed in the Home Run Derby on Monday, then started at pitcher and DH on Tuesday – but said he never considered to withdraw. “I expect to be pretty tired and exhausted after these two days, but there are a lot of people who want to watch it and I want to make these guys happy,” he said on Monday. “That’s why I’m going to do it.”

So what can the league and the union do to make more players see things the way Ohtani does?

Isaiah J. Downing / USA TODAY SPORTS

Commissioner Rob Manfred alluded to the punishment. “We have a basic agreement provision which [says that], with a few exceptions, participation in the All-Star Game is compulsory, ”he said. “We negotiated this layout because we think it’s important for our fans to see our best players at the All-Star Game.” He added that over the next few days the league intends to revisit the excuses for the withdrawals. “We negotiated for this [provision] and we intend to enforce that, ”he said.

This process could become complicated, however. The ABC does not provide penalties for players who falsify their doctor’s notes. MLB’s only recourse would be to grieve and seek damages. Given how strained relations between the league and the union are already, the league is unlikely to waste a bullet in this particular battle.

The league could introduce other provisions as well: Players could opt out of spring training if they prefer not to participate, like ESPN’s Buster Olney offers Last week. Many players’ contracts give them bonuses for making the All-Star roster; these could be adjusted to only pay them if they attend the game. Players who opt out of the game could lose the All-Star designation. (In any case, this should only apply to participation in the festivities, not availability for the match. National outfielder Kyle Schwarber, for example, stretched his right hamstrings on July 3 and hasn’t played since, but made it to Colorado anyway, a chance to see him at Media Day and on the pitch at Home Run Derby.)

They are sticks. The players suggest a variety of carrots.

Phillies wide receiver JT Realmuto would like to see a week’s All-Star break, rather than four days. “I think it would help a lot,” he said. “If you extend the break a little bit so that the guys who came to the All-Star Game still have – I mean, I’m going home on Wednesday.” I basically have Thursday off and that’s it.

Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos is an All-Star for the first time, so for him the choice to attend was easy. Yet he knows what he is sacrificing. “If I have to say that I’m not a little disappointed that I don’t have four days without worrying about being a father, husband and brother, I would be lying,” he said.

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner pointed at players’ portfolios. “I know they paid for the Home Run Derby to get the guys to do this,” he said. (Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was awarded $ 1 million for winning the Derby on Monday. He will be getting $ 676,775 in salary this year.) “Maybe if they did some kind of incentive that way they could encourage the guys to come. “

Realmuto agreed, but on one condition. “It should be something pretty good because most of the guys who make the all-star team are pretty well off,” he said. “The gift bags aren’t going to cut it.”

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