Stuffing the Ballot Box
Tonight on ESPN Radio, one of the announcers was talking about the alleged ballot-box stuffing prior to the All-Star Game. Apparently, a number of players are very upset because internet voters can vote up to 25 times.
If you're not familiar with the whole all-star voting situation, let me summarize. Back in "the day," you could only cast an all-star ballot at the game. There'd be a ballot box at every Major League Ballpark, and folks attending the game could fill pick one up and make their picks. Nobody polices the ballot box. You can fill out as many ballots as you want, at as many games as you want. So if you're a season ticket holder, that means you can fill out bundles of ballots at every game you attend.
Even though it had it's flaws, it seemed like a pretty fair system. Of course, radio broadcasts, and ultimately cable television, have meant a much broader rural audience for baseball. Some people don't live close enough to the ballpark to go cast an all-star ballot. For example, when I lived in Kirksville, it was a 3-hour drive to Kauffman Stadium, and 3 1/2 to Busch Stadium. It's not like I could just drop everything and go to a ballgame. And don't even get me started on the cost of attending a major league game. It costs about $150 to take a family of four out for a night at the ballpark. But I digress.
The internet has made it possible for baseball fans outside of major cities (and who aren't millionaires) to vote for the All-Stars. Pretty cool, right?
Not according to several major league players, who claim that ballot-box stuffing has kept players out of the game. For example, if you only count the ballots cast at ballparks, Braves outfielder Gary Sheffield was ninth among National League outfielders. But once you count internet votes, he finished in third place, and therefore earned a starting position in the outfield tonight.
I voted on the internet. I voted for Gary Sheffield. But I guess my votes shouldn't count because I'm not a season-ticket holder and I don't live in Atlanta. Just another example of big-money baseball ostracizing it's fans. So much for "America's Pastime."
Tonight on ESPN Radio, one of the announcers was talking about the alleged ballot-box stuffing prior to the All-Star Game. Apparently, a number of players are very upset because internet voters can vote up to 25 times.
If you're not familiar with the whole all-star voting situation, let me summarize. Back in "the day," you could only cast an all-star ballot at the game. There'd be a ballot box at every Major League Ballpark, and folks attending the game could fill pick one up and make their picks. Nobody polices the ballot box. You can fill out as many ballots as you want, at as many games as you want. So if you're a season ticket holder, that means you can fill out bundles of ballots at every game you attend.
Even though it had it's flaws, it seemed like a pretty fair system. Of course, radio broadcasts, and ultimately cable television, have meant a much broader rural audience for baseball. Some people don't live close enough to the ballpark to go cast an all-star ballot. For example, when I lived in Kirksville, it was a 3-hour drive to Kauffman Stadium, and 3 1/2 to Busch Stadium. It's not like I could just drop everything and go to a ballgame. And don't even get me started on the cost of attending a major league game. It costs about $150 to take a family of four out for a night at the ballpark. But I digress.
The internet has made it possible for baseball fans outside of major cities (and who aren't millionaires) to vote for the All-Stars. Pretty cool, right?
Not according to several major league players, who claim that ballot-box stuffing has kept players out of the game. For example, if you only count the ballots cast at ballparks, Braves outfielder Gary Sheffield was ninth among National League outfielders. But once you count internet votes, he finished in third place, and therefore earned a starting position in the outfield tonight.
I voted on the internet. I voted for Gary Sheffield. But I guess my votes shouldn't count because I'm not a season-ticket holder and I don't live in Atlanta. Just another example of big-money baseball ostracizing it's fans. So much for "America's Pastime."
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