Eight Royals hitters lead their positions in AL All-Star balloting, which is amusing story for Royals fans and for Major League Baseball. Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star points out, however, that so many All-Star selections could have an effect on the Royals’ bottom line. If the Royals do in fact send eight starters to the All-Star Game, it could cost them $1.25MM in escalators and incentives. If reliever Wade Davis makes the team, he would get a $25K bonus as part of the contract he originally signed with the Rays, raising the Royals’ total payout to $1.275MM.
Second baseman Omar Infante would get $250K in 2016 and again in 2017 due to a clause in his contract that gives him $250K for each future season after receiving an All-Star berth or Silver Slugger award. Catcher Salvador Perez could receive $350K spread over his three option seasons ($50K in 2016, $100K in 2017 and $200K in 2018). In addition, each player selected (also potentially including Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas and Kendrys Morales) would get a $50K bonus as part of a standard clause in the Royals’ contracts.
The Royals had already reportedly been planning to consider re-working Perez’s incredibly cheap contract. They’re under no obligation to do so, but if they do, the All-Star clauses in his current deal won’t be likely to matter much.
McCullough points out, however, that an additional cost of the Royals’ All-Star berths might come in the form of greater arbitration raises for Moustakas and Cain. Moustakas currently makes $2.64MM, while Cain makes $2.73MM. Both have two years of arbitration eligibility remaining. All-Star selections could increase their future arbitration-year salaries.
McCullough notes that Cain has interest in a long-term deal. Hosmer, meanwhile, is signed through 2016, and it does not appear likely the Royals will keep him after he becomes a free agent following the 2017 season.
Nonetheless, the Royals don’t appear outwardly concerned about the additional payouts. Their financial effect probably pales in importance to the success the Royals have experienced in the past few seasons and the goodwill their players’ current standing in All-Star balloting seems to reflect.
“Every single night, you pull hard for your players,” says Royals GM Dayton Moore. “I hope they reach all their goals. I hope they reach all their bonuses. It’s good for them.”
MLB needs to cancel this sham event.
Or maybe fans should go vote? If just 1500 fans from each mlb team voted their 35 times each, they could kick every royal out of the all star game.
We’re talking about 40,000 people voting here. Are you telling me major league baseball can’t find 40,000 fans? If that is the case, there is a pretty huge problem.
The whole 35 times thing is also ridiculous. Why does it need to be more than 1, exactly?
Because you’re supposed to vote 1-2 times a week and change your vote based on who is playing well that day.
Or they could just wait until around now to open up the voting. Because nobody votes that way
If that’s the case, why do they provide a button that lets you spam your vote over and over again with only a CAPTCHA to change between them?
It would take their web team like 20 minutes to restrict voting to once per week if that was their goal. They’ve specifically chosen not to do it.
Even when it was paper ballots at the ballpark fans could vote multiple times by going to multiple home games between open and closing of AS voting. The “35” was supposed to represent a fair number of home games a fan could attend in person, from what I read online a while back.
OK but now the voting is all online only, so we can do away with that
Inflated voting numbers makes MLB and others think MLB has more fans then they really do. If you could only vote once then it would be in the thousands instead of millions.
I’m just voting for Rios and Infante. It enhances the sham-appeal. Considering that home-field is on the line, you would think that the Royals fans would want the AL to win. By voting for less deserving players, it will only hurt their own chances in the WS. It also means that any pitcher from their team who is actually deserving will be passed over, in order to meet the one player from each team mandate. So sorry, Wade Davis, Omar Infante got your spot.
Nah, I don’t think they care about the AL winning, they just want to see their entire team on the field. Which I don’t understand – if this was happening to my team, the Dodgers, I’d be pretty embarrassed. I mean, to imagine AJ Ellis and Jimmy Rollins starting for the NL this year… yikes.
Yeah…I know…but I suspicion this started among a small group and then it blew up. You’d also have to understand the psyche of the Kansas City region…. Which is something I don’t often see people in other areas of the country grasp. These people saw 25 years of Yankees and Red Sox dominating what was a popularity contest. They are making good while they can.
All that said….I wonder if MLB really does filter votes from the same IP address… Because anyone can continue to make up fictitious email accounts.
The people who are saying a single at bat from Omar Infante is going to cost the AL home field advantage are stretching logic….one at bat for any major leaguer is almost impossible to tell from another. What I like is that this might actually make changes to this ludicrous all star game
Do Royals fans honestly think Hosmer can hit Scherzer, Kershaw, Cole, deGrom & Bumgarner et al better than Miguel Cabrera? KC couldn’t touch Bumgarner last year, so all the NL has to do is have Bumgarner throw a complete game and he’ll own them and then the NL get home field advantage in the World Series.
And I despise the disconnect between it being a “fun exhibition” that actually means something pretty important. All this garbage of players only playing a few innings each makes no sense when there is something important at stake.
No, fan’s should only be allowed one player to vote for. The “fan vote” is fine, the entire structure needs to change. Either go by highest WAR per position or let the manager pick the team so he can have the best chance of winning home field advantage.
As much talk that is surrounding the Royals because of this, I’m sure an extra million bucks is worth it.
Have to agree with you. Although, this is getting out of hand and has become an annoyance. Either have the fans vote who they want, or have managers and players vote them in and play for home field….but not both.
KC’s now 10th in MLB in attendance, highest rated TV viewership in MLB (ratings per area) merchandise is now #5 in MLB…KC doesn’t mind a few Million bucks.
Thanks to all the KC fans for providing incontrovertible evidence that the all star game is a complete joke.
Royals fans have known that for years. What makes this obvious that it’s even Royals fans doing this. The first tallies were released and weren’t any more top heavy with Royals than is typical with any strong fad team…it just seems like everyone has piled on the gag. MLB doesn’t care…it creates interest for this game
Jeter..Jeter…Jeter…. IF this was happening in Boston or NY nobody would blink an eye, but since its KC it is the most horrible thing ever.
Fans across baseball wanting to see a legend at the end of their career honored (i.e. Ripkin) is a bit different than an organized effort to get an entire team in the starting lineup regardless of performance. I’d argue one attracts all baseball fans and the other attracts fans of one team and/or trolls who think they can game the system. One is good for baseball as a whole and the other shows how much of a sham a lot of it is.
Royals making money, fantastic and great for the game overall, it proves that teams can make a turnaround via their play on the field. Royals players receiving recognition over other much more deserving players who earned that recognition and financial benefits that come with that is not good for the game overall.
I haven’t seen any organized effort…I’m not saying its logical…..and I like it might make MLB change the game. They have to get rid of this “this time it counts” garbage.
I remember last year, when yost was complaining that no one would go to games. And now this year they lead in votes lol. I’m guessing there on the bandwagon.
Yup….Royals raised ticket prices 20% and now they average over 30k.. But to be fair it takes knowledge of their region….its massive in geographic scale. When I was a kid in Kansas… Royals Stadium was a 4 hour drive. The team hasn’t been good so the people from long distance have been less likley to come in from Wichita, Omaha…etc. That’d be like if the closest MLB team to Boston was New York. That’s a haul…and for many its an up and back single day trip. KC has tremendous fans…they’ve been underground for a long time…sure there’s a bandwagon…. But its a great baseball region.
They needed to raise prices.. IF KC needed to keep up the payroll they have to generate $$$ and the gate is doing its job. Tickets are hard to get, fastest ever to 1 million visitors. But the payroll is over$113 million. KC unfortunately is stuck into one of the worst TV contracts in MLB, and they are #1 in MLB in segmented viewership. So how do you make money the gate and merchandising which is now #5 in MLB.
I don’t disagree…Royals used to draw really well…when I was a kid in the 80’s they actually had a tram in the lot to take people to the gate. It’s just weird seeing people in their 20’s who have zero memory of how grand the organization used to be. Some people will call this bandwagon… Yeah, maybe with some….but they don’t acknowledge the economic pressure on the KC region…its a long ways to go to a game to see the Royals lose 100 games. KC has always relied on people coming in from Wichita or wherever to boost attendance… Now their getting that again. That’s pretty hardcore fandom… 4 hours in a car to go see a game.
There is part of me wishing that every single Royals player makes the All-Star team, and that their starting eight are all starters. Hopefully, THIS would force MLB to re-think the process…
They should rethink the process! Here are some possibilities:
* No Ballot should be allowed more than three players from the same team. Disqualify ballots that do not comply. Seldom does a team have more than 3 deserving all-stars from their fielders.
* Actually verify the e-mail addresses so votes can be limited.
* Only allow fans to vote for other teams players. Use zip codes to verify.
Probably not the most fan friendly idea.
* Allow teams to only list five of their players for listing on the ballots. It is not necessary to list a player at every position for every team. Add value back to the “write in” candidate.
I like the majority of what you said, right down to “probably not the most fan friendly idea.” I think the biggest thing MLB needs to do is decide if the game SHOULD be a showcase of who the fans want to see, or a representation of who is playing the best baseball that season. If the former, home field advantage in the World Series needs to be removed from the game. I think it needs to regardless, but if they’re going to keep this silly provision, then let the managers and coaches pick the teams. Otherwise, go back to the days when it was nothing more than an exhibition game for the benefit of baseball fans and let it be nothing more or less than that.
I live in a region with a 6 team blackout that all those teams claim…I would essentially not be able to vote for 6 teams worth of players. I also believe it’s silly to conclude that because someone lives in a.certain area code they are fans of a local team. MLB forces me through the blackout policy to basically watch teams not in my region.
Thing is…this KC thing might be legit. But verifying email would be best way to go…supposedly they scrub too many votes coming from the same IP address…. But I don’t know….people also have IP scramblers as well. I entered a ballot with a made up email address and it appeared that their system took it..I wanted to see if there was validity.
It’s the actual vote totals that look strange…guys with 7m as opposed to the 3m customary at this point
The system isn’t going to tell you if they haven’t taken you vote, you would never know. MLB says its thrown out about 30% of the votes casted for violating voting rules.
Sure…. But they shouldn’t toss out votes just because multiples come from the same IP address. There might be 3-4 legit voters in the same residence.
Won’t be receiving much sympathy if it does wind up costing them money. The voters have illustrated exactly why this All Star format is flawed beyond belief. The Commissioner likes to say that it’s the greatest All Star game in sports, but that’s just not the case and this just pushes that point. If you want to get the fans involved, great, let them vote so there’s still some fan interaction. But either take away the meaning of the game, or instead of voting on the starters, create a pool of players composed of voted in players and players that have been voted in by fellow players/managers, and allow the managers to aptly decide who starts. I don’t think I’m even going to watch this year’s All Star game as things sit.
Leave Perez, Cain and Gordon so that Royals fans don’t throw a fit, but put in Altuve, Miggy, Cruz, Donaldson and Jose Iglesias start.
How do you justify that? Just eliminate the fan voting results? MLB needs a way that will save face for the leagues. its not that I disagree with you. It’s just that pithing off the fans would be the last thing MLB would want to do.
I think most KC fans will see that Infante, Morales and Escobar are not all stars though. Things could get interesting about the other 2 however
In May 1989 Mike Schmidt retired. I am a baseball fan first and a Phillies fan second. I have loved the game since I was 6 years old. When I was an infant MLB took away fan voting because of a “ballot box stuffing” incident like this and players, managers and coaches voted. The result was real All-Stars, the best players played. MLB gave the fans back the vote in 1970 and it became a popularity contest again, but I still watched the games. So why did I mention Mike Schmidt? He was voted the starting 3B in 1989 despite retiring and despite his pleas not to vote for him. He rightfully declined the invitation to play and I have barely watched an ASG since because it became apparent fan voting was a joke.
MLB could use more Mike Schmidts these days. I’m just waiting to see how they handle this situation.
Unfortunately, most All-Star games (all sports) have deserving players who decline to play, because they have better things to do (in their opinion).
It’s like 4-5 days off. Time to R&R and time to visit with family they rarely get to see.
Most Major Leaguers All-Stars have a, what, 15 yr career? At that point they can see their family year round, instead of just the straight 3 months they get each year during their career. When your job is in the entertainment industry, you are a product of the fans, and the fans should come first. If it means you have to give up one long weekend with the family each year, that’s part of what comes with the job. No sympathy from me.
Do they know that this is all the result of the Royal fans voting? Maybe it is NL fans wanting to give their league a better chance at winning the game and getting home field advantage.
Didn’t MLB just cancel 6M votes over suspected fraud?
So apparently infante is the leading all star candidate while hitting .230 with no home runs over pedroia who is hitting .310 with 9 homers and over kipnis who is hitting .320 something….. explain this to me. Also please explain why Escobar .270 with three homers is one of the leading candidates over iglesias who is hitting .330 and bkgaerts who is hitting around .290 with the same amount of homeruns
Royals can cover that pocket change with the 20% flat ticket price increase they hit fans with this season. This weekend they didn’t have an under $56 ticket for sale in the park.
Stub hub is your friend ! And $56 is cheap. KC has a avg ticket price of $29.00. Tickets are hard to come by now, KC is now 10th in attendance in all of MLB while having the second smallest market. The fans are willing to pay, and the club is putting it back into the team with a the 16th highest payroll at $116 million. A few years ago they were 27th. They hit 1 million fans a few games ago, fastest in club history.
$56 isn’t cheap…that was bottom price upper deck seating on their site. It’s alright… But ticket prices in general are ridiculous.
Seat geek btw
guess they will have to raise it another 20% next year, as this cost was not in the budget.
The east/west cost babies are really going to get their panties in a wad when KC gets 5 gold gloves. Perez,Cain,Gordon,Hosmer,Escobar… and maybe even Moustakus.
I can’t wait till Rios goes over Trout since he’s in 4th and Trout’s in 3rd lmao. Thats when the real uproar is going to happen. When the new face of baseball gets outvoted
This has to be crazy for Yost to be able to include a player from every team with so many Royals in the lineup… Not even including if pen guys make it
A few years back, we all complained that a Royal had to be included in the All Star squad (hello, Ken Harvey). Now we complain that the squad is only Royals
#YouCantPredictBaseballSuzyn
I voted all Royals just to see if they commish will do something about it.
I really hope that players like Morales, Infante and Escobar do make the team. Then see the public backlash demanding they be replaced. I’m a bit embarrassed that it has gotten to this point as a baseball fan and even more embarrassed for Royals fans. This could end up getting a bit messy if the more undeserving players do end up leading in votes.
What has been pointed out is correct. The 35 vote rule is nonsense and simply exists to increase the perceived amount of votes. If that wasn’t the goal you’d be limited to one vote per 24 hour period instead of given the tools to spam votes.
How’s about playing the AS game legit. All starters play 9 innings. Give fans a vote, players a vote…but exclude the writers for the sake of integrity
Coming from a Royals fan….This really is a joke right now. All of the players with the exception of Rios and Infante have legitimate gripes for being in the ASG but there should be others that start ahead of them. If Infante ends up getting the votes, he should man up and decline the offer. Rios is awful and they should really get rid of him and bring Paulo back up or just let Dyson run wild in RF. Sorry, veering off topic lol.
The voting is a joke and always has been. I will admit though, I vote but I only started to vote once Omar took over first place for 2B’s. Makes me sick to think he might actually be an All-Star this year. He’s gone downhill ever since he took a pitch to the face last year. Not to mention, his arm is garbage now as well.