Mariners Analysis: M’s Can’t Get No Respect in All-Star Voting

The Mariners are being criminally overlooked by fans in 2016 All-Star balloting.

MLB.com released their first voting update for the 2016 All-Star Game, and the Seattle Mariners are heavily underrepresented. Turning the voting process over to the fans has become a double edged sword because players are often voted in based on popularity rather than performance. Last season, fans were forced to endure essentially the entire Kansas City Royals starting 9 in the American League lineup.

This is the case once again in 2016. Despite being tied for the second best record (30-21) in the American League, the Mariners would have zero players in the AL starting lineup. In fact, they only have two players (Robinson Cano & Nelson Cruz) who cracked the top five at their respective positions.

The Mariners are a small market club, so the responsibility falls on the local fanbase to see that the players get the respect they deserve. Based on what we’ve seen so far, M’s fans have let the team down.

Hopefully if the M’s keep winning, more people in Seattle will start paying attention. Seahawks’ training camp is a long way off, so jump aboard the Mariners’ bandwagon and start voting for our guys!

Click here to cast your American League All-Star ballot, and don’t be afraid to be biased (everyone else seems to be). Whether you identify as a democrat or republican, we can all come together to support the Mariners.

Tonight we will take a closer look at what the early voting totals look like in the AL. Let’s start behind the plate where Salvador Perez is running away from his competitors at Usain Bolt speed.

Next: Catcher