The All-Star rosters have just been released. How do the New York Yankees, who have the 11th-best record in the American League (of 15 teams), get three representatives, while the Texas Rangers, who have the best record in the American League, get two (Ian Desmond and Cole Hamels)? East-coast bias. It's sickening. I may boycott the stupid game.
Addendum: Let me support my claim of bias. The East Division of the American league has 33.3% of the teams (five of 15) but 52.9% of the All Stars (18 of 34). Is the East Division so much better than the Central or West? No. As of this moment, the East is 212-201 (.513). The Central is 207-205 (.502). The West is 208-208 (.500). The East should have at most 12 All Stars.
Addendum 2: The East has 18 All Stars, the Central nine, and the West 7. Based on the winning percentages set out above, the figures should be 12, 11, and 11. The West Division is getting screwed; and why would that be? Because the East-coast fans and sportswriters rarely see the Western teams play. That should have nothing to do with All-Star representation.
Addendum 3: The National League is more balanced than the American League as far as All-Star representation is concerned, but the West still gets screwed. The East (.490) has 13 All Stars, the Central (.491) 11, and the West (.502) 10. So the worst division has the most All Stars and the best the least. East-coast bias. As I say, it's sickening.
Addendum 4: Here are the totals for the two leagues (each of which has 34 All Stars):
- East All Stars: 31 (45.5% of the total)
- Central All Stars: 20 (29.4% of the total)
- West All Stars: 17 (25.0% of the total)
The bias is strongest in the East, less strong in the Central, and weakest in the West. Here are the winning percentages by region, which shows that the disparity cannot be explained in terms of quality of play:
- East: 50.18 (416-413)
- Central: 49.69 (411-416)
- West: 50.11 (419-417)
Based on these percentages, the number of All Stars should be 23 in the East (instead of 31), 22 in the Central (instead of 20), and 23 in the West (instead of a measly 17), for a total of 68. I rest my case.
