Five Nationals Are Heading To The All Star Game
Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, but 5 Washington Nationals are heading to the All-Star Game in San Diego. Headlining the troupe will be Bryce Harper, who at 23 years old will be starting his 3rd ASG and making his 4th appearance. Despite a down season for Bryce, as he’s only batting .258 with 17 HRs, he still got voted in to the game by the fans, alongside 5 Chicago Cubs.
Daniel Murphy is one of those guys who should be starting but instead will take a seat on the bench to start the game. The owner of the best average in baseball, the 31 year old has added 14 homers and 56 RBI, to go along with a league-leading 108 hits, all which put him on pace to pass his previous career highs. He’s been a god-send for the Nats, a welcomed gift from the Mets front office.
I love the Buffalo. Well, well, well deserved ASG nod for Wilson Ramos. After hitting only .229 last season, he had offseason LASIK, and now is seeing the ball like it’s a beachball. He’s right behind Murphy in batting, hitting a remarkable .340 this year. While the catcher is usually a soft spot in a lineup, Ramos has been keeping pitchers honest at the bottom of the lineup, a true weapon for the Nats this season.
Stras signed that big contract extension and he’s earning it so far. 11-0, 2.71 ERA, and 123 strike outs in only 99.2 innings. Stras has been phenomenal this season, and despite a stint on the DL, came out last game and left with a no hitter in the 7th inning. Just filthy stuff, and a well-deserved trip back home to San Diego.
Two things to add- remember last year when everyone freaked out about the Royals fans stuffing the ballot box and getting all the starters? Well the Cubs did it this year, and I guess good for them, but this leads me to my biggest gripe in all of sports….STOP MAKING THIS STUPID GAME COUNT FOR HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE IN THE WORLD SERIES!
I cannot believe it’s still happening. I cannot believe they haven’t cut the cord on Bud Selig’s idiotic idea to make the winner of an exhibition game have home field. Even to this day, still typing this sentence, I’m in disbelief. It’s just so dumb. I don’t really care that Cubs fans voted all their guys to start. It’s a stupid game where pitchers groove fastballs to retiring players. And that’s how it should be- light and fun. But yet somehow it still the outcome has this huge meaning, and it’s completely ridiculous.