I know the All-Star voting is mostly a popularity contest, but this is ridiculous:
McCann, who has made the All-Star game in his first three seasons, is fourth among catchers with 416,149 votes. He trails the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina (629,007), the Brewers’ Jason Kendall (471,557) and the Astros’ Ivan Rodriguez (423,369).
The one knock right now against McCann may be that he doesn’t qualify due to time on the DL with eye issues, but nonetheless among catchers with at least 100 ABs he blows away the rest of the league in averages and is tied for 4th in home runs. I’ve copied some statistics below:
| Player | AB | AVG | OBP | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y. Molina | 154 | .286 | .353 | 742 |
| J. Kendall | 140 | .207 | .299 | 563 |
| I. Rodriguez | 144 | .264 | .305 | 750 |
| B. McCann | 107 | .318 | .422 | 936 |
Kendall is pretty much washed up, so his presence on the list is a complete mystery. At any rate, with statistics like that McCann should make the team as a reserve. Baseball people seem to realize that McCann is probably the best catcher in the National League, even if the fans don’t.