As the movie character said, there is no crying in baseball.
But there is whining. And moaning. And complaining. Lots of complaining.
Especially around All-Star selection time.
Look, the Rays have four players on the All-Star team. That’s tied with Toronto and New York for the most in the American League, so it’s not as if Tampa Bay was given the cold shoulder in fan and player voting.
And yet, I could easily make a case for two more Rays.
Jonathan Aranda has superior stats to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base, and it’s not even close. Aranda has more hits, homers and RBIs. His batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and WAR are all higher. Aranda deserves to be in Philadelphia.
But since Guerrero was elected on the fan ballot, I won’t make a big deal about it. Fan voting has always been a popularity contest rather than an actual examination of performance, and there’s no sense kvetching about the Aranda snub.
On the other hand, you should be seriously annoyed that Nick Martinez was left off the roster.
Pitchers and reserves are selected by player ballots with input from the commissioner’s office. Those folks should know better, and they seriously whiffed when it came to Martinez.
Seven of the 12 pitchers selected were starters. Cam Schlittler was a slam dunk. Hard to quibble with Dylan Cease, Parker Messick and Drew Rasmussen making the team, too. That leaves Ranger Suarez, Joe Ryan and Michael Wacha, who are all having solid seasons.
And Martinez has been better than all three.
His ERA is 2.61, compared to 3.15 (Suarez), 3.36 (Ryan) and 3.45 (Wacha). He’s thrown more innings than Suarez, has a higher WAR than Wacha and a better hard-hit percentage than Ryan. And none of those three were chosen because they were the only representative of their team (although Byron Buxton just got hurt, so Ryan may end up as the only Minnesota player at the All-Star Game).
But, even beyond the stats, Martinez has a storyline that should have played a role in the decision. He’s 35 years old and has never played in an All-Star Game, unlike Wacha, Suarez and Ryan. He was an 18th-round draft pick of the Rangers back in 2011 and spent four years in Japan before reestablishing himself as a quality major-leaguer a few years ago.
Signed to a $13 million deal, Martinez may be the best bargain of last winter’s free-agent market. The Rays have gone 13-4 in games started by Martinez, which matches the highest total of any American League pitcher.
(Before going any further, there’s at least a decent chance that Martinez eventually makes the All-Star team. Suarez left Boston’s game Sunday night with tightness in his groin, and there could be other injuries in the coming days. Plus, there could be starting pitchers who will be unavailable because they’re scheduled to pitch on Sunday, whereas Martinez’s final first-half start will likely be on Thursday.)
Is this the greatest injustice in the game? No, not really. Heck, you could make a similar argument for Boston’s Sonny Gray, who is 10-1 with a 2.61 ERA.
But Martinez is considered one of baseball’s better teammates and is a guy who has toiled just below All-Star status for years.
This should have been his year. This should be his moment.
