The last and only time the Mets hosted the All-Star Game was at Shea Stadium in 1964. This year, Citi Field and the Mets will again host the Midsummer Classic. Today, the first National League balloting update was released by Major League Baseball. Guess what? Pablo Sandoval is again leading David Wright among National League third basemen (by roughly 127,000 votes). More glaring than that, is the fact that second baseman Daniel Murphy wasn’t even one of the top five vote getters at his position.

May 29, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Mets third baseman(5) pumps his fist after the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

I view this as a two part problem. The first, is that San Francisco Giants fans indiscriminately stuff the ballot box for their own players. Last year, Pablo Sandoval (who was undeserving) edged out David Wright as the starter at third base. That wasn’t a result of fans across the country voting for Sandoval, it was the result of Giants fans voting non stop in order to elect a player who didn’t deserve to be there. The other problem, is that a vast majority of those across the country have no idea which players are deserving. They vote on name recognition instead of performance. How else can you explain B.J. Upton (who is hitting .153 with a .237 OBP) being one of the top 15 vote getters as far as National League outfielders are concerned?

Mets fans are both knowledgeable and passionate. You should absolutely not stuff the ballot box and vote for players such as Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada. What you should do, is vote often for Wright and Murphy, two players who deserve to be there.

There are those who are linking the absence of Mets leading at their respective positions to a ballpark that is usually half empty. While that may have a bit of an impact, the majority of voting is done online.

David Wright has close to a million votes. There are only six players in the N.L. who have more votes than him. Mets fans can certainly get him elected. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

Pablo Sandoval is currently hitting .288 with a .328 OBP and a .761 OPS. He has 8 home runs, 37 RBI’s, and 7 doubles. He’s scored 25 runs.

David Wright is currently hitting .277 with a .374 OBP and an .836 OPS. He has 7 home runs, 30 RBI’s, and 7 doubles, He’s scored 29 runs.

Looking at the stats, a case can be made for either Wright or Sandoval (though Wright’s numbers are clearly being negatively effected due to the lineup he’s in). When you take defense into account and look at their respective WAR (wins above replacement), you’ll see that Wright’s WAR is 2.7, while Sandoval’s is 0.9.

Regardless of where this year’s game is being played, Wright is the more deserving selection. Now, remember that the game is being played at Citi Field, David Wright’s ballpark. He deserves to be there, Mets fans, and we deserve to be able to cheer for him as he trots out of the dugout as one of the starters. Get it done. VOTE FOR HIM HERE.

There’s also a case to be made for Daniel Murphy. As is noted above, Murphy isn’t even one of the top five vote getters at second base. That’s absurd. Murphy is having a damn good season, hitting .291 with 4 home runs and 25 RBI’s. He’s on pace to finish the year with 54 doubles and 102 runs scored. Over the last few years, he’s worked his ass off to become a solid defensive second baseman. There can certainly be a case made that he deserves to start the All-Star Game. Yet, he’s nowhere to be found on the All-Star voting leaderboard. Let’s change that. VOTE FOR HIM HERE.

Again, this is much more of a “Giants fan stuff the ballot box” thing and a “the majority of fans across the country don’t know what they’re doing” thing than it is a “Mets fans aren’t voting” thing. Here’s another example that makes that case: Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is hitting .250 with 6 home runs and 28 RBI’s. Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .330 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI’s. Well, Belt has more votes than Goldschmidt. That isn’t a result of fans across the country voting for Belt, it’s a result of Giants fans stuffing the ballot box for an undeserving player.

Mets fans should take the high road here. Don’t become what the Giants fans have become and stuff the ballot box for Mets who don’t deserve to be elected. Do stuff the ballot box for Mets players who deserve it, but might otherwise be screwed out of a spot because of other fans who are stuffing the ballot box for players who don’t. VOTE!

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