The Nationals already have three players in the All-Star Game, and if everyone works together, it could well be four!
Major League Baseball has announced that from 12-4 p.m. today it will use Twitter hashtags towards the voting on the last players for the two All-Star teams. Every time that you use #BryceIn12 in a tweet for the next few hours, another vote will be added to his tally for the National League’s roster.
It’s a clown question to wonder whether Harper should be in the All-Star game. Of course he should. The 19-year-old phenom is up against David Freese of the Cardinals, Aaron Hill of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Michael Bourn of the Atlanta Braves—all much less exciting options.
Bourn’s teammate, third baseman Chipper Jones, was in the running for the 34th and final spot on the roster until Tuesday night, when he was added to the team by manager Tony LaRussa. Jones, who is in his 20th and final season with the Braves, is replacing Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp.
But this is all the more reason to vote for Harper, who when the voting for the final all-star slots began, said he would vote for Jones and recommended his fans do the same. Now, we don’t have to worry about Harper’s hero-worship, and can instead indulge our homerism by sending the kid to the All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium Kansas City, Mo.
Oh, and as a bonus, by voting Harper in, you’ll be irking Nationals Manager Davey Johnson, who says he would rather see the flashy rookie use the midsummer break to get some rest instead of jetting off to Kansas City.
So if you want to help make it happen, tweet out the hashtag. If you don’t use Twitter yet, just open and account for the sole purpose of getting Harper on the NL All-Star Team.
Martin Austermuhle