The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball, but they won’t have any starters on the field for the 2017 All-Star Game. And Kenley Jansen has something to say to Dodgers fans about that.
The Los Angeles closer will be at the All-Star Game in Miami on July 11, along with starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, shortstop Corey Seager and outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger. Third baseman Justin Turner and starter Alex Wood also could make the team as injury replacements, but Jansen is pretty ticked off that none of them will be starting.
“I’ll say it loud and clear again: It’s the Dodger fans’ fault,” Jansen said, per ESPN.com.
While it’s probably true Dodgers fans haven’t been as vociferous about All-Star voting as some other fanbases, it’s really not a guarantee that L.A. would well represented even if they were. Seager has a good case over All-Star starter and Cincinnati Reds shortstop Zack Cozart, but Turner lost out to Colorado Rockies third baseman and two-time All-Star Nolan Arenado. Bellinger’s power surge has him looking like the NL Rookie of the Year, but he splits time at two positions and wasn’t even on the ballot.
At the end of the day, though, it’s Seager and Turner who Jansen really believes should be starting.
“We should have voted for those two guys,” Jansen said. “They deserved to be the starters.”
Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images
