If you look back, you’ll often find at least one egregious omission from the MLB All-Star Game, and while Pete Crow-Armstrong was ultimately named to the 2026 National League squad, this year’s fan voting results are a stark reminder of how much hatred fuels us all. Don’t get tricked by the foolish narrative that the Chicago Cubs center fielder has only been good for the past month, because Crow-Armstrong had a rough three weeks to begin the season and has been the best player in MLB ever since.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to garner enough votes, as Crow-Armstrong finished 10th among National League outfielders in fan voting. Only the six players with the most votes moved on to the final round of voting, and then the three starters were selected.
This year’s starting outfielders for the National League are Juan Soto, Andy Pages, and Brandon Marsh.
Here are their numbers at the All-Star break.
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Juan Soto: .290/.405/.562, 21 HR, 51 RBI, 44 R, 7 SB, .967 OPS
Andy Pages: .270/.336/.471, 17 HR, 66 RBI, 57 R, 8 SB, .807 OPS
Brandon Marsh: .301/.339/.490, 15 HR, 46 RBI, 52 R, 8 SB, .829 OPS
So, obviously, no qualms about Juan Soto being voted one of the starting outfielders, as the New York Mets star entered the break as the second-best hitter in the National League. But the other two? C’mon.
I get it: the All-Star Game is in Philadelphia, so Brandon Marsh got the hometown juice in votes. The Los Angeles Dodgers have a massive fan base, so Andy Pages got that wave of support behind him. Yet we’re also talking about two of the more despised teams/cities in sports, but even that hatred was trumped by the vitriol directed toward Crow-Armstrong.
When you compare Marsh, Pages, and Crow-Armstrong side by side, there is no question that fans have been blinded by utter hatred of the Cubs’ superstar, because these numbers are ridiculous.
We’ll see if fan voting changes in the future, since other guys have been screwed over the years as well. And Washington Nationals fans can do the same post because James Wood has been better. Jordan Walker, the Home Run Derby champion, has St. Louis Cardinals fans fired up, as he wasn’t in the final voting either.
