Despite the holding the top records in the American League, the Minnesota Twins will only be sending two representatives to the MLB All-Star Game.
The Minnesota Twins have put together a great first half in 2019. Entering Sunday’s series finale with the Chicago White Sox, the Twins were one game back of the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League. To boot, Minnesota also led the AL in runs per game at 5.74 just ahead of the Yankees, who check in at 5.73.
With a strong resume in hand, many thought the Twins would send several players to the MLB All-Star Game in Cleveland on July 9. However, in a system that is voted on by their peers and opposing managers, only Jake Odorizzi and Jorge Polanco will be making the trip as the Twins got hosed in the All-Star voting process
While Odorizzi and Polanco deserve the accolades for making it to Cleveland, the bigger story is why the Twins didn’t have more representatives going. By comparison, the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians, who both trail the Twins in the AL Central by a considerable margin, will be sending three representatives a piece, making this a bizarre decision.
There are benefits to not having the entire team make its way to Cleveland, especially for a team that is as banged up as the Twins are right now. However, there were several players that deserved to make the trip over some of the players that did make the cut.