The best stadium to play at? The worst? What about this whole automated ball-strike system? MLB’s All-Stars had some thoughts.
We anonymously polled 20 of the game’s best players at All-Star Weekend on these topics, and more. Here’s what they had to say:
Automated Ball-Strike System: For or Against?
Winner: For
Just don’t call it “robo-umps.” The ABS technology has been used in the minors to challenge certain calls on balls and strikes. It was actually used in this year’s All-Star Game. But how what in regular season games?
“I don’t want full ABS. Being able to go down and pitch in Triple-A and rehab and other things, I’ve gotten experience with it. So, I think there is a use to it, but I don’t want to take the human element out of the game. I don’t want umpires to be completely out of it.” — NL All-Star pitcher
“I’m for the challenge system. I think having umpires and then the human element, they’ve got the hardest job on earth, man. They’re trying to dictate pitches coming in at 100 mph on the corners, trying to determine is this ball truly on the plate or not? I don’t envy their job at all. But I do think there is a human element, and if they miss one, having a team have the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, can we take a look at that? I don’t think that’s the worst thing, either.” — AL pitcher
“I don’t want to get rid of the umpire, but having some checks and balances would be cool.” — AL All-Star pitcher
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| Vote | Count |
| For | 12 |
| Against | 2 |
Best Atmosphere?
Winner: New York Yankees
Opened in 2009 next to the original “House That Ruth Built,” Yankee Stadium is certainly one of the great cathedrals in sports. Some of the other iconic parks got multiple votes, but there is something about playing in the Bronx that appeals:
| Vote | Count |
| New York Yankees (Yankee Stadium) | 5 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers (Dodger Stadium) | 4 |
| Philadelphia Phillies (Citizens Bank Park) | 4 |
| Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field) | 3 |
| Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park) | 3 |
| San Diego Padres (Petco Park) | 2 |
| Houston Astros (Daikin Park) | 2 |
| New York Mets (Citi Field) | 1 |
| Toronto Blue Jays (Rogers Centre) | 1 |
Most Surprising Team?
Winner: Detroit Tigers
With a whopping six All-Stars this season and running away with the AL Central, don’t sleep on these Tigers. Led by back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, this team has put MLB on notice.
“The level that they’ve been at, the consistency they’ve shown, is very impressive.” — NL All-Star
“I knew Detroit was good, but they’ve really impressed me with the way they’ve dominated.” — NL All-Star
“What they’ve been able to do this year, they have like six All-Stars or something like that. Consistently, what they’ve been able to do is surprising.” — AL All-Star
Also received multiple votes:
Milwaukee Brewers: “Whether they started hot or not, they finished really hot. So, good for them.” — AL All-Star pitcher
Boston Red Sox: “Plenty of talent, but just kind of the start they got off to.” — AL All-Star
Received one vote:
Toronto Blue Jays: “What they’ve done this last month has been impressive.” — AL All-Star pitcher
Arizona Diamondbacks: “I thought they’d be better.” — AL All-Star
| Vote | Count |
| Detroit Tigers | 7 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 3 |
| Miami Marlins | 2 |
| Boston Red Sox | 2 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 1 |
| Houston Astros | 1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 1 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 1 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 1 |
| Atlanta Braves | 1 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1 |
Most Underrated Player?
Winner: José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians slugger feels like a deserving winner in this category although it’s surprising the defending AL MVP, who just eclipsed 350 career home runs, also getting a vote here.
(Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“Yes, [Ramírez] is a superstar. But I just don’t feel like he gets covered the way that the other top five or six players in the league do.” — AL All-Star
Also received votes:
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: “I just think people put other players in his league, and it’s not right. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Who’s the best hitter? Aaron or this guy?’ And it’s not even a discussion. There’s no close second. I think the fact that people put hitters in the same conversation as him, offensively, makes him underrated. You can look at the numbers the last 6-8 years and it’s not really close between anybody else.” — AL All-Star
Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels: “With the years that he’s put up and the performances he keeps putting up, I think he definitely deserves more attention than he’s getting.” — AL All-Star
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros: “Quality start after quality start from that dude. He’s a groundball pitcher. And he goes deep into games.” — AL All-Star
| Vote | Count |
| José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians | 3 |
| Juan Soto | 1 |
| Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians | 1 |
| Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays | 1 |
| Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins | 1 |
| Luke Raley, Seattle Mariners | 1 |
| Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels | 1 |
| Otto Lopez, Miami Marlins | 1 |
| Luis Severino, Athletics | 1 |
| Framber Valdez, Houston Astros | 1 |
| Aaron Judge, New York Yankees | 1 |
Player You’d Most Want to be Teammates With:
Winner: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
(Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
The Yankees superstar runs away in this category. Who wouldn’t want to play alongside a two-time MVP?
Also received votes:
Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates: “I’m just really impressed with who he is. Not many people had the accelerated path that he did with all the attention that he has had. I would really like going and playing behind that guy.” — NL All-Star
| Vote | Count |
| Aaron Judge, New York Yankees | 8 |
| Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers | 2 |
| Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 |
| Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies | 1 |
| Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers | 1 |
| Mickey Moniak | 1 |
| Mike Trout | 1 |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | 1 |
| Paul Skenes | 1 |
Organization You’d Most Want to Play For:
Winner: Boston Red Sox
(Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
From the aura at Fenway Park to the four World Series this century, a fair amount of All-Stars have a roving eye for that Green Monster.
| Vote | Count |
| Boston Red Sox | 4 |
| Atlanta Braves | 3 |
| San Francisco Giants | 3 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 |
| Texas Rangers | 1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 1 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 1 |
| New York Yankees | 2 |
| San Diego Padres | 2 |
Organization You’d Least Want to Play For:
Winner: Chicago White Sox
Or shall we say, “loser” here? Even with super-fan Pope Leo XIV presiding over the Vatican, there seems to be little appeal to take up residence one Southside. As one player polled said:
| Vote | Count |
| Chicago White Sox | 4 |
| New York Yankees | 1 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 1 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 1 |
| Miami Marlins | 1 |
| Any California team | 1 |
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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