Jonathan Lucroy for President?

So, recently the Milwaukee Brewers released a “political ad” in favor of their catcher Jonathan Lucroy over the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina to start for the National League in this year’s All-Star Game.  In case you have not seen this ad yet, watch it here. 

Did you watch it? No? Go back and watch it, then keep reading.  Anyway, there are a lot of people who are upset about this ad.  I’ve heard it described as stupid and classless.  I’ve seen this ad a couple of times.  Personally, the first time I saw it I busted out laughing because I thought it was hilarious.  It was so absurd and unexpected.  But was it out of line? I’m not so sure.  I agree that Lucroy is perhaps the most underrated player in baseball.  He has put up some fantastic numbers over the past few years and really has not gotten much recognition.   So is it absurd to think of him as an all-star?  Not really.

But how about the ad?  Was the ad itself out of line?  I really do not think so.  This isn’t a very popular opinion among Cardinal fans but I was not really offended by it.   Personally I thought it was funny.  It was a spoof on the all-too-common political ads we see and get sick of each time an election is rolling around.   And I thought it was pretty well done.  Yes it “bashed” the Cardinals but they are rivals and frankly the Cardinals have beat them a lot over the past few years so they probably don’t have the best feelings toward St. Louis.  Also, St. Louis really is becoming one of the teams people either love or hate.   And that is due to their success.  Not to be cocky, but just observing.  When a team does well, others tend to start not liking them because the other team is doing well and their team isn’t.  It’s common nature.  No one is going to out of nowhere start hating on a team that is struggling.  That’s not how people work.  So, personally I think Milwaukee was just having some fun, taking a few shots at a rival and hoping to build hype for one of their guys. 

And that is where I start to take issue with the ad.  As I said earlier, I think Jonathan Lucroy is a phenomenal player and does not get enough recognition.  And because of this he is not doing as well as he maybe should be in the all-star voting.  In my opinion, that falls on the Milwaukee fan base.  If you think your guy is having an all-star year, then step up and vote for him!  Stuff the ballots!  Vote online!  Use multiple email addresses so you can keep voting!  If you think your guy is an all-star than vote him in!  Realize what you have on your team!  That there I think is the real issue.  I think Jonathan Lucroy is not just underrated around baseball, I think he is underrated in his own city.   Ken Rosenthal wrote a very good piece on this topic, which you can read here if you like.In case you don’t want to read it, basically it talks about how around the Milwaukee clubhouse, Lucroy isn’t treated as if he is a star.  He is treated more like a “kid brother”.  Teammates ask reporters why they are interviewing Lucroy and not someone else.  Lucroy went undrafted out of high school, wasn’t recruited by the major schools in his area, went out of state to play and has essentially never really been a hyped guy.  So before Milwaukee starts taking shots, even just playfully, at other teams they need to step up and realize that Lucroy really is that good. 

Finally, the part of the ad which really got me was when they call Lucroy the best catcher in baseball.  There are two ways to interpret that.  He is the best catcher in general or he is the best catcher this year.  If you take the first one, there is a picture which sums up my response nicely. 

Or you take the second one and mean he is having the best year and is most deserving of the all-star start.  That is an interesting argument.  Lucroy is having a great offensive year.  He is among the league leaders in hits and is ahead of Molina in most offensive categories.  But that is not to say Molina is having a bad year.  Offensively, he is still above average for a catcher, as of June 30 hitting .280 with 7 homeruns, solid marks for the halfway point, especially on a team which has struggled offensively.   Defensively is where there is a difference.  Lucroy has allowed 45 stolen bases thus far, throwing out only 17.   Molina has had 34 stolen base attempts total against him, throwing out exactly half.  As a whole both offensively and defensively I would give Molina the edge this year.  Although I do think Lucroy is having a great year as still deserving of an all-star selection, just not the starting spot.  That has been earned once again by Molina.