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OC Register: Why the ‘Final Vote’ is the best thing about the MLB All-Star Game


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The author Robert Greene revealed in a recent interview that he writes out much of the material that forms his books by hand. Typing words on a screen is faster but more passive, while writing by hand forms a real-time connection between the author and his words. “I’m actually thinking more deeply than when I’m sitting there typing stuff out on a computer,” Greene said. “I don’t know how to explain that.”

Faster and more passive defines much of what we call technology, which brings us to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Winners of the “Final Vote” in each league were announced Wednesday: Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesús Aguilar and Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura. The online contest has been used since 2002 to fill the final roster spot in each league.

Until internet voting began in the mid-1990s, it was difficult to vote for All-Star teams without attending an actual baseball game. When Texaco sponsored the event, it distributed ballots at gas stations. Wal-Mart once offered ballots in its stores. Fans could call a 1-800 number to cast votes for a time. But for most of All-Star Game history, the ballots were distributed at ballparks, before the internet slowly and subversively redefined elections. Paper ballots were eliminated completely in 2015.

Voter participation appears to be higher now than ever. In 1994, approximately 14 million All-Star votes were cast. By 2015 that number had increased to 620 million. (That year, more than 60 million votes were invalidated out of fear of improper voting.) On a less measurable level, I think some fan engagement was sacrificed in the process of going digital.

That’s why, in an unexpected twist, the Final Vote stands alone as the best thing about the All-Star Game.

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, the Dodgers opened the doors of their Ketel One Club, a posh lounge area on the field-level concourse beyond right field. A couple dozen members of the Pantone 294 fan club entered, sat down in front of computers and remained there for up to 24 hours without interruption. Their sole purpose: to elect Max Muncy to the All-Star Game by clicking over and over again.

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It was a team effort. The Dodgers provided some desktop computers, while other fans brought their own laptops and tablets. Papa John’s delivered pizzas a few innings after the Dodgers’ game began in San Diego. Twelve-ounce aluminum cans of Coke, Pepsi and Fanta littered the empty surface areas; a full refrigerator was stocked with even more drinks. Cracker Jacks, potato chips and a single-serve coffee contraption sat on the bar.

“We’re pretty prepared,” said Desiree Garcia, “considering last year we were up longer.”

“Last year was 72 hours,” Alex Soto added. “It was like three days.”

If you wanted to watch this bizzare postgraduate cram session unfold, the Dodgers set up a camera to broadcast the whole thing live on their Facebook account. Several local television crews offered their own dispatches throughout the day. Steve Yeager, the team’s catching instructor, came by to pay a visit Tuesday. So did Manny Mota, the pinch hitter-turned-coach-turned-broadcaster.

On Tuesday afternoon, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts used the video-chatting application Skype to offer some words of encouragement en vivo. “Go Max Mun-cy,” the fans cheered on camera, followed by a five-clap. Roberts clapped along with them.

Then Muncy, among the most introverted men in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, Skyped in himself.

“When we started doing the ‘vote Max Muncy’ cheer, he started getting a little bit blushy,” Garcia said.

While their sick days and vacation time might have suffered, the fans’ effort succeeded in electing Justin Turner to the All-Star Game in 2017. The Dodgers reached out to Pantone 294 last year, Garcia said, eight years after they first began organizing trips to road games from coast to coast. Naturally, they were invited back to elect Muncy.

“We didn’t expect all the media attention,” Soto said. “The Dodgers said, hey, let’s get Max in. Let’s do it again.”

Los Angeles was not alone in staging an impromptu Final Vote event.

The Angels’ candidate was shortstop Andrelton Simmons. The team gave away six tickets to Tuesday’s game against the Mariners; the winners sat together and voted throughout the evening using team-issued iPads. The six fans also received autographed Simmons bobblehead dolls.

First baseman Aguilar was the Milwaukee Brewers’ candidate. Wednesday morning, the Brewers staged a voting event for fans at a local pastry shop. Holey Moley Coffee + Doughnuts offered one free “Sweet Jesús” doughnut to the first 500 fans.

Critically, MLB removed the option of counting individual Twitter hashtags as Final Vote ballots this year. That forced fans to deliberately visit a website, choose one player from the list of candidates and inform the title sponsor, Camping World, whether or not they owned a recreational vehicle. It was cumbersome, but it also reduced the likelihood of collecting votes from those who have no interest in baseball.

In that way, a trend was reversed.

Like writing words on paper, voting for all-stars at a live baseball game offers a deeper connection than a digital screen. Those paper ballots are gone, but a few clever teams have found a way to connect fans to the sport, and to each other, in a meaningful way. Like the game itself, the outcome should be secondary to the journey.

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