In a sport defined by statistics, the numbers don’t always decide who gets celebrated. Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez leads several key National League categories at his position, yet finds himself trailing in All-Star voting behind more familiar names.
Should Major League Baseball change the name of the All-Star Game to the Popularity Showcase?
In a sport where success is measured by numbers, those numbers don’t carry over to All-Star voting. No better example than Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez, who leads in a number of National League categories at his position yet still sits fifth in All-Star voting.
The fact that he’s fifth in voting but ranks first in average, hits, WAR, and doubles shows that fan voting rewards popularity over performance.
Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers has received 567,566 votes compared to Otto Lopez’s 230,286 in the first round of voting. However, Betts does not lead or rank among the top three in several key statistical categories in which Lopez does.
There’s no denying the talent and name Betts has built for himself over the years, but the All-Star Game should be based on current performance, not past accomplishments. This season so far, Betts has an average of .203 with 32 hits. That is .133 points lower than Lopez’s average and 60 fewer hits. Yet Betts comes in 337 380 votes ahead of Lopez.
Fans have yet to notice Lopez has been one of the best at the shortstop position and deserves to start in the Midsummer Classic.
“I’ve worked hard to be where I am,” Lopez Said, adding, “being in the All-Star Game is a dream,” and just hopes fans notice and vote.
Marlin players have also taken notice of his fifth-place standing and are working to help their teammate earn the votes he needs.
“Liam Hicks, Lopez, Xavier Edwards and Max Meyer get them to the All-Star Game,” Kyle Stowers said, adding, “they are having incredible years and deserve to be there” in an effort to convince fans to vote.
This season, Lopez leads the National League in hits with 98, ahead of CJ Abrams of the Washington Nationals at 77 and Elly De La Cruz Cincinnati Reds at 66. They also rank one-two-three in batting average, with López’s first at .336 followed by Abrams at .284 and De La Cruz at .280.
Lopez’s WAR at 3.0 is also tops for NL shortstop, again just ahead of Abrams at 2.5. But this time it's Geraldo Perdomo of the Arizona Diamondbacks who sits third with a 2.3. He also leads the NL in doubles with 19, followed by Willy Adams of the San Francisco Giants with 18 and Ezequil Tovar of the Colorado Rockies with 14.
Lopez is third in OPS with an .841 and is 4th in RBI with 32. But despite Lopez holding an advantage over many in several key categories, Adams sits first in All-Star voting with 579,796 votes after the first round of voting compared to Lopez’s 230,286.
The problem for Lopez regardless of his numbers, it was always going to be a challenge to get the votes needed playing in Miami. While it may seem like a large market, the Marlins average just 12,213 fans for home games and have the lowest payroll in Major League Baseball.
Because of that, it makes it easier for the average fan to overlook the success he is having on the field.
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