The Midsummer Classic has come and passed as it usually does.  As it usually does, the events leading up to the game caused much debate among fans.  The same complaints that come up every year came up again this year.  Some of the best players at each position got snubbed, the voting caused a player or two to start and, one of the biggest complaints of all, why does every team have to have an all-star representative all came up on message boards and social media sites.  As fans there is not much you can do but complain, but each year you should watch and hope that MLB got it right, and you’re proven wrong.

The biggest complaint, after the game has been completed, is the Astros lone all-star Jason Castro.  The Astros are currently by far the worst team in the league, but anyone who has watched a game can see that starting pitcher Bud Norris and second baseman Jose Altuve are far and away the best players on the team.  So why would Castro, an up and coming catcher, make it on the team over each of them to be the third catcher and not even end up participating in the game?  The system, which mentioned above doesn’t seem to be changing soon, made it to where the team was filled out and then the AL Manager had to pick a player from the Astros to play in the game.  Jim Leyland already had three second baseman voted in by the players and fans, so that put Altuve out, and his pitching staff was so full that the A’s lone all-star, Bartolo Colon, made the team as an injury replacement, so Norris was out and Castro was in as the emergency third catcher.

That is a look at the negative, though.  One of the biggest positives was the representative for the team that is the NL equivalent of the Astros, the Miami Marlins.  Looking at the Marlins record it is easy to say they didn’t deserve to have a representative, but they get one no matter how bad they’re doing, and Jose Fernandez pitched well enough to be an all-star.  The 20 year old out of Cuba has a 2.74 ERA and 111 strikeouts for a team that gets no recognition because of how poor the team is performing overall.  If you put him on any other team he is a superstar whose highlights are played over and over again every time he starts.  This is where the All-Star game got it right.  On national television, against the best players the AL had to offer, Fernandez got the opportunity to show the world what he was made of.

Fernandez was the fifth and final starting pitcher to get in the game.  He had to follow guys like Matt Harvey, Cliff Lee and Clayton Kershaw who are all over the highlight reels and all he did was show he belonged.  Fernandez allowed no hits and struck out two in a perfect frame and wowed the world with his electric stuff.  Now there is no denying that he is on his way to being one of the best pitchers in the league, no matter how far the Marlins continue to fall into obscurity.

There are many other examples of players from smaller market teams who fans never heard of making a splash in the game.  The Royals catcher Salvador Perez came in, got a hit and scored a run, but in a memory he’ll never forget, got to catch the great Mariano Rivera in his final All-Star Game ever.  Indians second baseman, one of four second baseman for the AL, Jason Kipnis, got in the game and knocked in a run in his one at bat, and played great at his position.  The biggest impact for a smaller market team, though, was a player who didn’t make the team at all.

In a game full of stars and players who have earned the respect of their peers, Yoenis Cespedes made it to New York to do nothing other than to hit home runs in the home run derby.  While Cespedes finished in the top ten in voting for outfielders he did not make the team and deservedly so.  He has struggled all year with hitting and to stay healthy at times, but he let the world know that he wanted to compete in the derby through his personal twitter account and interviews with the media.  Now, Cespedes wasn’t AL Team Captain Robinson Cano’s first choice, but he was eventually picked and he did not disappoint.

Cespedes showed up to the derby knowing one thing, he wanted to put on a show for the fans, and he did just that.  In the first round he swatted 17 home runs, more than any other contestant would hit in the first two rounds of the competition combined, and put on the best show since Josh Hamilton hit 28 in the very same city.  He did not even have to hit in the second round as he was already in the finals, but the team competition was on the line and he went out and smacked another six bombs to win the contest for the AL as well.  After watching reigning NL Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper got out and hit eight home runs in the final round, Cespedes came to the plate knowing exactly what he needed to do to win.  Much like he did in the first round, he again put on a show as he hit the tying home run off of the glass windows in left field before blasting the game winner to straightaway center field and flipping his bat as he watched it fly.

After the derby Cespedes got the opportunity to talk to the major media outlets and show off the style and confidence that has made him a fan favorite in Oakland on a national stage, and the national fans at it up.  Cespedes jersey sales spiked after the derby, and this is exactly what should happen.  Most major markets have only briefly heard of players like Castro, Fernandez, Perez, Kipnis and Cespedes, but when they’re allowed to showcase themselves on a national stage, they have the opportunity to show the world what they’re missing.  Hopefully this will give these players and these teams new fans, and next year it won’t be a question of should players like Cespedes be in the derby or should players like Fernandez make the all-star team, it will be demanded that they get their chance to shine.