:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46512240/GettyImages-102872575.0.jpg)
We're tired of All-Star arguments around here at SB Nation, so we've decided to do something about it. Tuesday, we unveiled the only way to fill out an All-Star ballot. We've checked with intellectuals and various think tanks, scientists and spiritual leaders, and determined that this is the only proper way to evaluate an All-Star ballot. The criteria are:
- The player's entire career
- What the player is doing in the current season
- How much you want to watch that player play baseball
MLB All-Star Game
All three are weighted equally, more or less, with the player's career weighed just slightly more. It's not about total career WAR, though -- it's more about if they've ever been, or have recently been, a star. It's time to take this one step further, however, and create the perfect All-Star ballot so you don't have to think. You have a lot on your mind. Here, take a load off.
We're going to use science and mathematics here, assigning scores from 1-10 in each of the three categories. A very, very complicated algorithm was used to compute these scores, and they definitely weren't pulled from an unspeakable place after a split-second of thought.
We'll start with 1B:
First base
| AL first basemen | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Miguel Cabrera | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Prince Fielder | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 |
| Albert Pujols | 10 | 6 | 8 | 24 |
| Jose Abreu | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| Mark Teixeria | 8 | 8 | 7 | 23 |
| Eric Hosmer | 5 | 8 | 7 | 20 |
| Carlos Santana | 7 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| Joe Mauer | 8 | 3 | 6 | 17 |
| Chris Carter | 6 | 2 | 6 | 14 |
| Mike Napoli | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| James Loney | 5 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| Logan Morrison | 4 | 5 | 4 | 13 |
| Ike Davis | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Steve Pearce | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Justin Smoak | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| NL first basemen | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 8 | 10 | 10 | 28 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 8 | 10 | 9 | 27 |
| Joey Votto | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| Freddie Freeman | 8 | 8 | 7 | 23 |
| Brandon Belt | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
| Ryan Howard | 9 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
| Justin Morneau | 8 | 6 | 6 | 20 |
| Lucas Duda | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
| Adam Lind | 5 | 7 | 6 | 18 |
| Pedro Alvarez | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| Ryan Zimmerman | 8 | 2 | 6 | 16 |
| Yonder Alonso | 5 | 6 | 4 | 15 |
| Michael Morse | 6 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
| Matt Adams | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
Miguel Cabrera might be the most obvious pick on the ballot, considering the three categories. Don't bemoan the fact that you never got to watch Jimmie Foxx or other past greats; watch more Miguel Cabrera.
Second base
| AL second basemen | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Jason Kipnis | 8 | 10 | 8 | 26 |
| Jose Altuve | 8 | 7 | 10 | 25 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 |
| Brian Dozier | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
| Ian Kinsler | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
| Robinson Cano | 9 | 3 | 9 | 21 |
| Logan Forsythe | 5 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| Devon Travis | 5 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| Ben Zobrist | 8 | 2 | 7 | 17 |
| Stephen Drew | 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| Jonathan Schoop | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
| Rougned Odor | 4 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| Johnny Giavotella | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Omar Infante | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| Micah Johnson | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| NL second basemen | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Dee Gordon | 6 | 10 | 9 | 25 |
| Brandon Phillips | 8 | 7 | 8 | 23 |
| Joe Panik | 5 | 8 | 8 | 21 |
| Kolten Wong | 5 | 8 | 8 | 21 |
| Yunel Escobar | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
| Howie Kendrick | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| DJ LeMahieu | 5 | 8 | 6 | 19 |
| Chase Utley | 9 | 1 | 8 | 18 |
| Neil Walker | 7 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| Jace Peterson | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 |
| Daniel Murphy | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Chris Owings | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| Scooter Gennett | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Jedd Gyorko | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Tommy La Stella | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
I was rigging the AL for Jose Altuve, too. This is probably a good hint that I need to watch Jason Kipnis more. You can see how the excellent start from the three NL youngsters is enough to catch Brandon Phillips, though. It can't all be about career value.
Also, cut it out, Royals fans.
Third base
| AL third basemen | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Josh Donaldson | 8 | 10 | 9 | 27 |
| Adrian Beltre | 9 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| Evan Longoria | 9 | 7 | 9 | 25 |
| Manny Machado | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| Kyle Seager | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
| Mike Moustakas | 5 | 8 | 7 | 20 |
| Trevor Plouffe | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Pablo Sandoval | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| David Freese | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Brett Lawrie | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Chase Headley | 7 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| Conor Gillaspie | 5 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| Luis Valbuena | 5 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Nick Castellanos | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Lonnie Chisenhall | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| NL third basemen | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Nolan Arenado | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 |
| Matt Carpenter | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| Todd Frazier | 7 | 9 | 8 | 24 |
| Kris Bryant | 5 | 8 | 10 | 23 |
| Josh Harrison | 7 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
| David Wright | 9 | 2 | 10 | 21 |
| Martin Prado | 7 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 8 | 2 | 6 | 16 |
| Juan Uribe | 6 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| Jake Lamb | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| Anthony Rendon | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Cody Asche | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Will Middlebrooks | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Chris Johnson | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| Casey McGehee | 4 | 1 | -12 | -7 |
Arenado is close to a 10 for me -- I love the defense that much -- but Bryant is just a little bit more of a novelty. Still, Arenado takes it for me. This is probably a good time to point out that players start their career value at 5 in this exercise, so the rookies aren't at a complete disadvantage.
Donaldson is another uncontroversial choice for the AL, but at least now you have science.
Shortstop
| AL shortstops | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Jose Iglesias | 6 | 8 | 9 | 23 |
| Jose Reyes | 8 | 5 | 9 | 22 |
| Xander Bogaerts | 5 | 7 | 9 | 21 |
| Marcus Semien | 5 | 7 | 8 | 20 |
| Brad Miller | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Erick Aybar | 7 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| Jed Lowrie | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| Alcides Escobar | 6 | 4 | 7 | 17 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Asdrubal Cabrera | 7 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
| J.J. Hardy | 7 | 2 | 7 | 16 |
| Elvis Andrus | 6 | 3 | 6 | 15 |
| Didi Gregorius | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| Jose Ramirez | 5 | 1 | 7 | 13 |
| Danny Santana | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| NL shortstops | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Brandon Crawford | 7 | 9 | 8 | 24 |
| Jhonny Peralta | 7 | 9 | 8 | 24 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | 9 | 7 | 8 | 24 |
| Andrelton Simmons | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| Zack Cozart | 6 | 8 | 6 | 20 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 9 | 3 | 8 | 20 |
| Jean Segura | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Starlin Castro | 7 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| Ian Desmond | 7 | 4 | 7 | 18 |
| Adeiny Hechavarria | 4 | 7 | 5 | 16 |
| Jordy Mercer | 6 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| Wilmer Flores | 4 | 5 | 4 | 13 |
| Nick Ahmed | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| Freddy Galvis | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| Alexi Amarista | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
AL shortstops might be the most boring race at all, as no one is doing that well in the first half. Also, when Derek Jeter isn't on the field, all of us should be asking "Where's Derek Jeter?" Still, there are some good, young shortstops to watch, and I'm pretty happy that Iglesias pushed his way through.
The National League is CHAOS AAHHHHHHH, and by my own standards (career value being .1 more important than the other two categories), Troy Tulowitzki takes it. I still vote for Brandon Crawford, though. I should probably add a homer component to this methodology. That's for the revised version.
Catcher
| AL catchers | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Russell Martin | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 |
| Stephen Vogt | 6 | 10 | 9 | 25 |
| Brian McCann | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 |
| Salvador Perez | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24 |
| Jason Castro | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| Alex Avila | 7 | 4 | 7 | 18 |
| Yan Gomes | 7 | 4 | 7 | 18 |
| Ryan Hanigan | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Kurt Suzuki | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Mike Zunino | 5 | 4 | 7 | 16 |
| Caleb Joseph | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 |
| Robinson Chirinos | 5 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| Chris Iannetta | 6 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
| Tyler Flowers | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Rene Rivera | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| NL catchers | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Buster Posey | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
| Yadier Molina | 9 | 8 | 10 | 27 |
| Derek Norris | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
| Miguel Montero | 8 | 6 | 7 | 21 |
| Francisco Cervelli | 5 | 8 | 6 | 19 |
| Jonathan Lucroy | 8 | 3 | 8 | 19 |
| A.J. Pierzynski | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| Carlos Ruiz | 8 | 4 | 7 | 19 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| Nick Hundley | 5 | 7 | 6 | 18 |
| Wilson Ramos | 6 | 5 | 7 | 18 |
| Travis d'Arnaud | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| Devin Mesoraco | 6 | 2 | 6 | 14 |
| J.T. Realmuto | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| Tuffy Gosewisch | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
Martin takes it over Vogt by the slimmest of slim margins. Like Tulowitzki/Crawford, though, I should note that invoke my rights as a homer and vote for, well, Vogt. It's not proper, but I live to break rules like that because I'm an iconoclast.
No homer points needed for Posey, of course. He's the best catcher in the National League and Cardinals fans should feel bad about that.
Outfield
| AL outfielders | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Mike Trout | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Jose Bautista | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 |
| Lorenzo Cain | 7 | 9 | 10 | 26 |
| Alex Gordon | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| Adam Jones | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 8 | 7 | 9 | 24 |
| Josh Reddick | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24 |
| Torii Hunter | 9 | 6 | 8 | 23 |
| Michael Brantley | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 8 | 6 | 7 | 21 |
| Brett Gardner | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Hanley Ramirez | 8 | 6 | 7 | 21 |
| Seth Smith | 6 | 8 | 7 | 21 |
| George Springer | 5 | 7 | 9 | 21 |
| Carlos Beltran | 9 | 3 | 8 | 20 |
| Kevin Kiermaier | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Shane Victorino | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
| Michael Bourn | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| Rajai Davis | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| J.D. Martinez | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Brandon Moss | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
| Colby Rasmus | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Mookie Betts | 5 | 5 | 8 | 18 |
| Kole Calhoun | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| Avisail Garcia | 5 | 7 | 6 | 18 |
| Steven Souza | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 |
| Austin Jackson | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 |
| Alex Rios | 7 | 4 | 6 | 17 |
| Travis Snider | 6 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| Jake Marisnick | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| Melky Cabrera | 7 | 2 | 6 | 15 |
| Desmond Jennings | 6 | 3 | 6 | 15 |
| Coco Crisp | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
| Adam Eaton | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| Sam Fuld | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| Leonys Martin | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| Dalton Pompey | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| Ryan Rua | 5 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| Orlando Arcia | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| Alejandro De Aza | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| Matt Joyce | 6 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| Michael Saunders | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| Jordan Schafer | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Dustin Ackley | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| NL outfielders | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Bryce Harper | 8 | 10 | 10 | 28 |
| Andrew McCutchen | 10 | 8 | 10 | 28 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
| Ryan Braun | 9 | 7 | 9 | 25 |
| Joc Pederson | 6 | 9 | 10 | 25 |
| Justin Upton | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| Carlos Gomez | 8 | 7 | 9 | 24 |
| Matt Holliday | 9 | 7 | 8 | 24 |
| Norichika Aoki | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
| A.J. Pollack | 6 | 9 | 8 | 23 |
| Yasiel Puig | 8 | 4 | 10 | 22 |
| Charlie Blackmon | 7 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | 8 | 5 | 8 | 21 |
| Nick Markakis | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Wil Myers | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21 |
| Curtis Granderson | 8 | 5 | 7 | 20 |
| Jason Heyward | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
| Starling Marte | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Hunter Pence | 8 | 3 | 9 | 20 |
| Michael Cuddyer | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| Billy Hamilton | 6 | 4 | 9 | 19 |
| Juan Lagares | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| Marcell Ozuna | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Angel Pagan | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| Gregory Polanco | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Ben Revere | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Denard Span | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Mark Trumbo | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| Corey Dickerson | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| Ender Inciarte | 5 | 7 | 6 | 18 |
| Matt Kemp | 8 | 3 | 7 | 18 |
| Jorge Soler | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 |
| Jayson Werth | 8 | 2 | 7 | 17 |
| Jay Bruce | 6 | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| Carl Crawford | 7 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
| Dexter Fowler | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Christian Yelich | 6 | 2 | 8 | 16 |
| Marlon Byrd | 7 | 4 | 4 | 15 |
| Khris Davis | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| Odubel Herrera | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| Jon Jay | 6 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| Chris Coghlan | 5 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| Jonny Gomes | 6 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| Eric Young, Jr. | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| Domonic Brown | 5 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
There are too many outfielders in baseball. My column:
I promise that I didn't goose these nearly as much as you think. There were no adjustments to the instant-reaction rankings up there, and I'm very happy with the results in both leagues.
And look at that danged National League outfield. Do you doubt the power of the formula now? You cannot. Those are the correct three outfielders, and we will not have a discussion. It's one of the most exciting All-Star outfields in recent memory.
DH
| Designated hitters | Career value | 2015 performance | How much I want to watch them | Total |
| Alex Rodriguez | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 |
| Nelson Cruz | 7 | 10 | 9 | 26 |
| Edwin Encarnacion | 8 | 6 | 8 | 22 |
| David Ortiz | 9 | 3 | 10 | 22 |
| Chris Davis | 7 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
| Kendrys Morales | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Evan Gattis | 6 | 5 | 8 | 19 |
| Nick Swisher | 8 | 4 | 7 | 19 |
| Adam LaRoche | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| Victor Martinez | 9 | 2 | 7 | 18 |
| Mitch Moreland | 5 | 7 | 6 | 18 |
| Billy Butler | 7 | 4 | 6 | 17 |
| Kennys Vargas | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| C.J. Cron | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| John Jaso | 6 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
Oh, they vote for DHs. That's cute!
You can see the power of the formula here, too. Nelson Cruz is having a great season. Alex Rodriguez is having a very good season, but he has the capacity to troll the world. There is no choice.
Tally them up, and here are the empirically correct 2015 All-Star Ballots for both leagues:
AL
C - Russell Martin
1B - Miguel Cabrera
2B - Jason Kipnis
SS - Jose Iglesias
3B - Josh Donaldson
OF - Mike Trout
OF - Lorenzo Cain
OF - Jose Bautista
DH - Alex Rodriguez
NL
C - Buster Posey
1B - Paul Goldschmidt
2B - Dee Gordon
SS - Troy Tulowitzki
3B - Nolan Arenado
OF - Bryce Harper
OF - Andrew McCutchen
OF - Giancarlo Stanton
OK, FINE, you can argue about the AL outfield and NL third baseman. Maybe both shortstop positions. Otherwise, this is final. These are the best possible All-Star ballots. Good day.
I said, good day.
Want a chance to cheer on your team’s All-Stars this year? Sign up for the Gillette Shave Club free membership (see rules here for full details on eligibility and alternative entry) for a chance to win a VIP experience at MLB All-Star Weekend in Cincinnati July 12-14 -- brought to you by the Gillette Shave Club, Gillette’s razor subscription service that delivers Gillette’s best blades directly to your door. By signing up for the Gillette free membership program, you will be eligible for chances to win major league sports and entertainment tickets as well as free products and you’ll have access to exclusive content, grooming tips, and more.