My Way of Studying: American Politics

The United States, obviously, employs a two party political system in which you can, traditionally, vote for Republicans or Democrats. It is not to say that third party votes are not important, they can influence an election by dividing votes, or at times a new party can emerge (there was an era when the Republicans were said third party). Because the political structure is such it makes it easy for citizens to vote along party lines. While this may seem irresponsible to many, the “best” and most frequently used “tag” for voters is the party identification of the candidate running for whatever office they are seeking to inherit. Voters assume that because a candidate is a republican they are fiscally and socially conservative, or at least more so than their democratic counterpart and so they vote accordingly. As such it seems that the people vote based on party allegiance than the competence of the competitor. The media also helps in the capacity that voters do not want to take the time to research the aforementioned competence of the candidates, so the media bias influences voter opinions of the party and, at times, the candidate.

Clearly, this takes place at the federal, state and local levels within the United States. But what about on a more personal level, with All Star voting?

It is arguable that many Americans care more about their favorite sports team than their local representative. One would be hard pressed in an American society where politics is secondary to so many other aspects of life to find a group of people who could name their local congressman (mine is Duncan Hunter). It is not that I am selling the American people short, but rather recognize that the majority are not educated, or do not wish to take the time to become educated, about these things. Researching candidates is difficult, especially if they are not an incumbent, and time consuming, so why bother when your vote counts for little (if anything) when it comes to the electoral college at the presidential level.

But because we, as Americans, care more about our sports teams (I’m guilty of this too) than our politicians, shouldn’t we take the time to research their statistics to ensure that the best players get elected to the All Star game? It seems that we have taken the traditional “party” shortcut with even our national pastime, and we elect players based on the team they play for, not the numbers that they produce. The biggest cases for this argument are in the bitter rivals of the Yankees and Red Sox.

This years game will be played in San Francisco, a National League park. An NL park means NL rules, which do not include the designated hitter. As such there is no position on the fan ballot for the DH, and many traditional Designated Hitters were placed in where they normally “play.” The most obvious example of this is Boston’s slugger David Ortiz. Ortiz has been an All Star for the past three years, and is slated to become one again, despite the fact that he is the most stereotypical DH in the league. Ortiz has played a total of two games (as of June 12, 2007) at the first base position this season, yet he will be the starter for the American League if ESPN has projected its votes correctly. Does this make any sense at all? Yes, Ortiz is an amazing power hitter, but this game should be about electing the best overall player at his position, not the best hitter. Perhaps more telling is that Ortiz is a Red Sox, and as such inherits a large and passionate fan base. So it seems that the people of Boston are taking advantage of their 25 votes per email address and voting a DH into the first baseman’s position even though this man does not play there.

Another case for the party identification theory is that of Orlando Cabrera and Derek Jeter. Both men play the shortstop position, and are considered to be the leading contenders for the starting spot for the mid summer classic. Their batting is relatively similar as they are both currently in the .330 area (although OC is batting six points higher than Jeter). While Jeter’s On-Base Percentage is higher than Cabrera’s, Cabrera has more hits, doubles and runs batted in than The Prince of New York. Jeter only has one more home run than Cabrera. And though both have six stolen bases, Jeter has been caught five times compared to Cabrera’s zero. More importantly is the best player aspect, again, Jeter has made 11 errors compared to Cabrera’s four. So the two men may be close to equal in regards to batting Cabrera is clearly the superior base runner and fielder, making him the better shortstop this season. Yet ESPN predicts that Jeter will start the game. This can only be attributed to name recognition, playing in a larger market, an East Coast media bias, which all contribute to less educated fans.

I love seeing my favorite players in the All Star game just as much as the next person, but I understand those who deserve to go should be voted in based on statistics not the team they play for. It is unfair to deny the best player at his position that right because he plays in for a smaller market team. So while I personally make educated decisions regarding my votes I recognize that many do not, and so it seems that the system itself should be changed. Perhaps the All Star game should be like the Pro Bowl where fans are one-third of the influence, players one-third, and coaches the other third. Or maybe it should be just the players and coaches who decide, because it seems that Americans are not motivated enough to do research on those who will pass legislation and make international decisions on their behalf, let alone who will represent them in the All Star game. But if Major League Baseball chooses to leave the system as it is, which they will, then I would like to be able to vote for pitchers. I realize that pitchers are more numerous than other players, but as an educated fan I can surely wade my way through them.

Perhaps literacy tests should be reinstated at the polls… or at least baseball trivia ones.