There is no doubt in my mind that Sammy Sosa deserves to be in the All Star game next week. Do you really think that Michael Young deserves to go more than Sammy this year? And of course, you will want to argue that he is a roid taker and should not be there. But lets take a look at a few items of interest.
1. He has never tested positive for steroids. It does not matter that only a few people out there believe he was clean.
2. Barry is going. He too has never tested positive for steroid (or HGH for that matter). But similarly to Sammy, he too has never tested positive for roids.
3. He is putting up decent numbers this year. Ranked in the top 10 in homers.
4. Barry against Sammy in the homerun derby would make for great TV. Let’s listen to the announcers try to keep from bringing up steroids during that broadcast despite everyone and their mother looking at the two of them and thinking that’s what it is all about.
5. Gwynn and Ripken both got curtain calls for the All Star game when they were obviously past their prime, and put up mediocre numbers at best. (Ok… they were class acts, but in many ways Sammy is a class act too).
Despite being a little sarcastic in my comments here, I do believe that Sammy deserves to be in the All Star game more than several guys who are in. But if you want to reference a player who was really snubbed, one need look no further than Gary Sheffield. Some might not think he is a class act (I do think he is), but he is an All Star through and through.
