I realize that I’m probably in the minority here, but I love that Jack Armstrong started the 1990 All-Star Game for the National League.
Why bring up a random starting pitcher from an exhibition game nearly three decades ago? Because we’re getting close to the time All-Star rosters are announced, and you’re about to hear the same grumbling we hear every year about the composition of those rosters.
“It’s the All-Star team, not the All-Three-Month-Sample-Size team!” Or this classic: “The fans didn’t pay good money to see guys they’ve never heard of!”
Sorry. I don’t buy it. The All-Star Game is a celebration of the best in the sport, sure, but it’s also a reflection of the current season. I want to see the Jack Armstrongs of the baseball world step onto the biggest and brightest midseason stage for a chance to shine.
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Armstrong, you might remember, was a 25-year-old Reds right-hander who came out of nowhere — he owned a career 5.33 ERA in 23 games (21 starts) over two years heading into 1990 — and bulldozed his way through the National League in the first half of the season. When he took the mound at Wrigley Field and threw the first pitch that night, Armstrong owned an 11-3 record, a 2.28 ERA and 1.099 WHIP for Cincinnati. Remember, at the time those were the statistics that mattered; we didn’t have WAR or FIP or any of the other wonderful evaluation tools/stats available now.
Armstrong got the starting nod over more established veterans having good seasons, guys like Frank Viola (the 1988 AL Cy Young winner who had a 13-3 record with a 2.20 ERA for the Mets) or Dennis Martinez (who had a 2.84 ERA for the Expos).
It was Armstrong’s first All-Star nod, and turns out, his only All-Star nod. He quickly became the poster boy for the “Superstars only!” crowd, largely because his career took a dive. After throwing two shutout innings against the AL, he had a 5.96 ERA in the second half of the 1990 season — though he did throw three shutout innings in Game 2 of Cincinnati’s stunning World Series sweep of the mighty A’s — and a 5.48 ERA in 1991 before he was traded. He had a 4.54 ERA over the next three years, for Cleveland, Florida and Texas and tossed his final MLB pitch just 41 days after his 29th birthday.
Armstrong’s first any only All-Star appearance looks like a fluke in retrospect.
But you know what other players made their first All-Star appearance that year? Hall of Fame talents Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Roberto Alomar and Barry Bonds, and other multiple-time All-Stars, including Sandy Alomar Jr. (six All-Star games), Matt Williams (five), Dennis Martinez (four), Randy Myers (four), Cecil Fielder (three), Lenny Dykstra (three), Rob Dibble (two) and Ellis Burks (two).
Those players all had better careers than Armstrong, no doubt. But that doesn’t mean they deserved to be in Chicago more than Armstrong on that July day in 1990.
I love that Armstrong was in that group.
Sure, it was good fortune on his part that the best three-month stretch of his career just happened to line up in a way that put him in position to have the honor of starting the All-Star Game for the National League. But why is that a bad thing?
I love that the All-Star Game gives any player — the stars and the unknowns — a chance to step onto a big stage. That’s a good thing. Yes, it’s great when the game celebrates the superstars, but the game will always have superstars. Superstars produce great numbers on a regular basis, and they deserve to be at the Midsummer Classic. That’s why they’re superstars.
But they don’t get a free pass into the contest.
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Let’s look at one current example. Jose Altuve is one of the very best players in the sport, of course, and if I’m starting a hypothetical franchise and picking a second baseman to put on my roster, he’d probably be my very first choice. But if I’m looking at the three finalists for a starting spot at second base for the 2019 AL All-Star team, he’s third behind Tommy La Stella (zero ASG) and DJ LeMahieu (two).
La Stella and LeMahieu are having superior seasons, in part because Altuve’s spent time on the injured list and has only 196 plate appearances. LeMahieu has a 3.2 fWAR and La Stella’s at 2.1, with Altuve back at 0.8. The All-Star Game will survive without Altuve for one season, and in La Stella’s case, a trip to Cleveland for his very first All-Star appearance will provide a career highlight he’ll never forget.
Give me Ketel Marte over Mike Moustakas at NL second base, or Jorge Polanco over Carlos Correa at AL shortstop, or Joey Gallo over Aaron Judge in the AL outfield.
Give me celebrations of players having breakthrough seasons. Let’s celebrate the best of the 2019 season at the 2019 All-Star Game.
