Former Mizzou Pitcher Aaron Crow Makes the 2011 All-Star Game (Alex Gordon Snubbed)
By Editorial Staff
[For more FanSided stuff on Crow, here’s Michael Engel’s early thoughts over at Kings of Kauffman]
Luckily there is some Mizzou-related news in this one, but I feel this whole story is going to mostly be about Alex Gordon… yup, it already is.
Mizzou may get most of it’s pro-sports star power from the NFL, but there have been some pretty good former Tigers playing in the MLB as well. Just off the heels of Ian Kinsler’s second All-Star season last year, when he helped the Rangers make a shocking appearance in the World Series, there will be another former Tiger representing in the 2011 All-Star Game in the form of former Mizzou pitcher Aaron Crow, currently playing with the Kansas City Royals.
"… his selection is a great story for the 24-year old rookie and University of Missouri alum. After struggling as a starter since being picked in the first round of 2009 Major League Draft, Crow went to the bullpen as has been a solid contributor to the Royals bullpen this season. Crow has a 2-1 record with a 1.36 ERA in 39.2 innings pitched. He has 39 strikeouts against 17 walks. Many Royals fans have wanted to see Crow stretched out back to starter because of the struggles in the Kansas City starting rotation, but for now Crow is an All-Star reliever."
While I obviously want to give congratulations to Crow, who has been a great reliever for the Royals this season and is one of the few feel-good stories in a season that has turned sour amazingly fast, the real story here is that Alex Gordon, in the midst of his best season in the pros by far, was snubbed from the All-Star Game, and only can be saved through the final vote (CLICK THIS AND VOTE FOR GORDON!).
"Gordon is featuring a .301/.368/.491 line at the plate, including 10 home runs and 47 RBI. While there may be bigger names in left field in the American League, none are having the season Gordon is as he already already a 3.4 WAR (wins above replacement) and as of now his OPS+ number is 141.Gordon is currently third in the American League with 98 hits, eighth in total bases (180), third in doubles (24), seventh in triples (7), sixth in extra base hits (38), and the list goes on and on. What Gordon is doing on the field during the 2011 season has been overshadowed by the poor play of the team on the field, notably the Royals starting pitching."
I’m not going to pretend that I’ve been following the Royals a lot this season, especially since they’ve gone on this recent losing streak to wind up among the league’s worst teams after hanging around .500 for most of the early season. That said, I have been able to notice that Gordon has been having himself a hell of a season, and that’s even more of a feel-good story than Crow’s given the huge hype and eventual disappointment Gordon brought to the Royals since 2007.
Baseball may be one of my weakest American sports when it comes to understanding and comprehension of the numbers (especially the advanced stats), but you would have to be a blind fool to see Gordon as anything other than an All-Star this season. This only fuels my irrational hatred of the multitude of All-Star spots that always seem to get reserved for the big name players from the big name teams.
There are All-Star Game snubs every year, but this one hits close to home and stings like hell for a Royals community that already has to deal with a lot of crap. Do the world a kind service and vote for Alex Gordon.
Also, another big congrats to Crow. It sucks that he’s inevitably going to be overshadowed by Gordon’s snub in this one.