The selection of Braves utility man Omar Infante to the National League All-Star team shows just what a joke the All-Star Game has become. Because the game counts in determining home-field advantage for the World Series, manager Charlie Manuel felt the need to have someone who would be able to play multiple positions in the late innings, depending on roster moves.
↵The problem is, Infante isn’t very good. Don’t get me wrong, he is a quality player who has started at second base, shortstop, and left field for the first-place Braves. But he has no business being on an All-Star roster. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports called Infante the worst All-Star ever, and I tend to agree.
↵When Infante’s name was announced, I immediately thought of Mike Sharperson, the utility man who was the Dodgers' lone All-Star selection in their dreadful 99-loss 1992 campaign. However, upon further review, Sharperson had a very good first half that season. Heading into the break, Sharperson was hitting .328 with a .424 on-base percentage and .433 slugging percentage, playing 78 games at third base, second base, or pinch hitting.
↵Sharperson was the best the Dodgers had to offer in the first half of 1992, and as such was a deserving All-Star. Infante, one of five Braves on the squad, is not.