With the All-Star break currently disrupting daily and nightly baseball games, it might be perhaps timely to take a look at the 2025 All-Star teams as was voted on before all the substitutions started happening for injuries, rest, disinterest, and what have you.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Starters
C: Cal Raleigh (SEA)
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR)
2B: Gleyber Torres (DET)
3B: José Ramírez (CLE)
SS: Jacob Wilson (ATH)
OF: Aaron Judge (NYY)
OF: Riley Greene (DET)
OF: Javier Báez (DET)
DH: Ryan O'Hearn (BAL)
Reserves
C: Alejandro Kirk (TOR)
INF: Jonathan Aranda (TB)
INF: Alex Bregman (BOS)
INF: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY)
INF: Brandon Lowe (TB)
INF: Jeremy Peña (HOU)
INF: Bobby Witt Jr. (KC)
OF: Byron Buxton (MIN)
OF: Steven Kwan (CLE)
OF: Julio Rodríguez (SEA)
DH: Brent Rooker (ATH)
Starting pitchers
RHP: Hunter Brown (HOU)
LHP: Kris Bubic (KC)
LHP: Garrett Crochet (BOS)
RHP: Jacob deGrom (TEX)
LHP: Max Fried (NYY)
LHP: Yusei Kikuchi (LAA)
LHP: Tarik Skubal (DET)
RHP: Shane Smith (CWS)
RHP: Bryan Woo (SEA)
Relief pitchers
LHP: Aroldis Chapman (BOS)
LHP: Josh Hader (HOU)
RHP: Andrés Muñoz (SEA)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Starters
C: Will Smith (LAD)
1B: Freddie Freeman (LAD)
2B: Ketel Marte (AZ)
3B: Manny Machado (SD)
SS: Francisco Lindor (NYM)
OF: Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL)
OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC)
OF: Kyle Tucker (CHC)
DH: Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
Reserves
C: Hunter Goodman (COL)
INF: Pete Alonso (NYM)
INF: Elly De La Cruz (CIN)
INF: Brendan Donovan (STL)
INF: Matt Olson (ATL)
INF: Eugenio Suárez (AZ)
OF: Corbin Carroll (AZ)
OF: Kyle Stowers (MIA)
OF: Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD)
OF: James Wood (WSH)
DH: Kyle Schwarber (PHI)
Starting pitchers
LHP: Matthew Boyd (CHC)
LHP: MacKenzie Gore (WSH)
LHP: Clayton Kershaw (LAD) -- Legend Pick
RHP: Freddy Peralta (MIL)
LHP: Robbie Ray (SF)
LHP: Chris Sale (ATL)
RHP: Paul Skenes (PIT)
RHP: Logan Webb (SF)
RHP: Zack Wheeler (PHI)
RHP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)
Relief pitchers
RHP: Jason Adam (SD)
RHP: Edwin Díaz (NYM)
RHP: Randy Rodríguez (SF)
For the most part this looks fine. What the EFF is a "Legend Pick" and why is this a thing? Kershaw's as deserving of an all-star appearance in 2025 as much as Kris Bryant or Anthony Rendon are. As it he's not. It's an Old-Star; a Faded (not even Fading) Star. He's wasted on this roster of a pitcher who is certainly more deserving. Two that come to mind are local-biases because I see them all the time, Ranger Suarez and Christopher Sanchez. Ronald Acuna Jr might be doing alright, but he's played far, far less than other outfielders who deserve to be there. Tatis Jr also doesn't belong there, but that's because I can't stand him either. Since I drafted this post last week, a lot has changed....
Too many players make the list. Too many teams are probably over-represented. I'm not totally a fan of "every team has to be represented", but if they are going to do that, might as well go with a two-player limit per team. I understand this is a problematic approach too...
Overall, the game is going to be unwatchable due in large part to its starting too late.
Two 2025 baseball cards of two All-Stars by voting just arrived the other day!
File the Steven Kwan under a "happy" card if you collect such things. This is a genuinely happy card, not something that is more, um, forced or something, like a team card showing a few players doing their celebrations.
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