One of the biggest topics in baseball at the moment as we approach the start of the MLB All Star Week came on Friday when Milwaukee Brewers rookie pitcher Jacob Misiorowski was named as a replacement for the National League team after making just five starts on the year. And during Saturday’s game between the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals, Mets color analyst Ron Darling shared his strong stance on the matter.
Misiorowski earning a spot on the National League All-Star team was an unprecedented decision, being the first player to be named to an All-Star Game with less than ten starts on the year. Last year, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes set the previous record for the least number of starts for a pitcher named an All-Star with 11 starts in 2024.
The Brewers rookie has undoubtedly impressed in his five starts on the year, sporting a 2.81 ERA across 25.2 innings with 33 strikeouts to boot. But given the long list of excellent pitchers that were passed over for a roster spot by Misiorowski, Ron Darling made it incredibly clear that while Misiorowski isn’t to blame for this selection, the pick itself is a “joke” to the integrity of the All-Star Game given his limited sample size.
“Listen, let’s separate the kid from the choice,” said Darling during the third inning of Saturday’s Mets-Royals game. “Because he had nothing to do with it. So, to have any vitriol against Misiorowski is ill-placed and silly. It’s not his fault they decided to do it. But it can also be kind of a joke to the game and the integrity of the game that he has only pitched five times. Now, you were saying that it was 11 times (Paul) Skenes pitched? And it didn’t really raise any eyebrows around baseball. I think the problem is that there are so many deserving pitchers out there that look askance at this choice. But again, separating this young man, who has gotten off to a great start in his career… He has nothing to do with the choice. But it’s a bad choice for baseball.”
Darling would go as far as to say that the selection of Misiorowski actually represents what he believes to be a diluted All-Star Game product compared to the event he watched when he was growing up.
“It’s ugly all the way around, to tell you the truth,” added Darling. “Now, in one sense, have we ever talked more about the All-Star Game than we have today with this choice? So that’s one thing. I just remember my childhood and spending the whole day Tuesday preparing and thinking about watching that All-Star Game. It was the biggest moment in my house once a year that me and my younger brothers and my dad would sit and watch the greats. It’s less of that now, certainly much less of that now. I really don’t even watch the game (now). I watch the Home Run Derby over the game now.”
Darling is far from the only one who has publicly shared their frustration about Misiorowski’s selection. Notably, a number of players on the Philadelphia Phillies aired their grievances to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, who serves as a beat writer for the Phillies, about Christopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez being snubbed in favor of Misiorowski.
“What a joke,” said Trea Turner . “That’s f— terrible. I mean, that’s terrible, dude.”
“That’s just how MLB does it now,” J.T. Realmuto said. “Nothing against the Misiorowski kid. But those two (Sánchez and Suárez) are deserving of being on the team in the first place. There’s no doubt.”
“It’s turning into the Savannah Bananas,” said Nick Castellanos.