Diamondbacks' Christian Walker snubbed from NL All-Star team

SAN DIEGO — If ever a week showed how valuable Christian Walker is to the Diamondbacks, it was this one.

Over the course of the Diamondbacks’ 4-2 road trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, Walker went 11-for-27 with five homers, 11 RBI, one double and three walks. In the Dodgers series, in particular, he was downright unconscious.

Folks, we have no more words. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Q4LHlSLYeI

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 5, 2024

So far in 2024, Walker is hitting .268/.340/.513 with 22 homers, 64 RBI and 18 doubles. He leads all MLB first basemen in defensive runs saved, and is tied for the lead in outs above average. By Fangraphs WAR, Walker entered play on Sunday as the 10th-most valuable position player in the National League.

Nonetheless, Walker was not included in the final All-Star Game rosters that were announced on ESPN on Sunday. Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies, Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pete Alonso of the New York Mets will represent the NL at first base.

“It stings a little bit,” Walker said, “but it is what it is. Those guys deserve it; nothing but credit to them. Harper, Freeman, Alonso; all All-Star caliber players for sure.”

Walker added: “To be honest, I got the support and the respect of my teammates and my peers and my coaches. Nothing else really matters.”

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said that he was frustrated by the announcement, adding that Walker “deserved wholeheartedly” to make the team.

Christian Walker on not making the All-Star team:

"It stings a little bit, but it is what it is. Those guys deserve it. Nothing but credit to them.

"To be honest, I got the support and the respect of my teammates and my peers and my coaches, and nothing else really matters." pic.twitter.com/kQh6qdDIYK

— Jesse Friedman (@JesseNFriedman) July 7, 2024

To be fair to the players that made it over him, both Harper and Freeman were among the nine players that had more Fangraphs WAR than Walker entering play on Sunday. Alonso, however, was not.

Alonso’s stats lag behind Walker’s across the board:

	Christian Walker	Pete Alonso
AVG	.268	.243
OBP	.340	.325
SLG	.513	.464
HR	22	18
RBI	64	48
R	58	49
fWAR	2.9	1.2
DRS	6	-5
OAA	8	-6

Of course, Walker is far from the only deserving player who has missed out on MLB’s All-Star festivities, this year or otherwise. Major League Baseball’s methodology for selecting All-Star rosters has never been geared at sending the most worthy players.

Fans are solely responsible for selecting starting position players, a process that is inherently subject to external factors such as market size.

According to an explainer from MLB.com, 17 of the other 23 players in each league are selected via a players ballot, and the other six are selected by the commissioner’s office. In terms of picking the most deserving players, those processes have their imperfections, too.

For player ballots, timing is an issue. According to the Diamondbacks, player ballots had to be submitted by Sunday, June 30, meaning that players who play well in the games leading up to the All-Star break, such as Walker, are at a disadvantage.

Another obstacle is that the league requires each team to have at least one representative, a feature shared by only the NHL among the four major men’s sports in the United States. While that requirement gives all 30 MLB fanbases a reason to watch the All-Star Game, it ultimately works against selecting the most deserving players.

In this case, Walker appears to be a victim of that requirement. Alonso was selected by the league as the Mets’ lone representative, even though Walker’s numbers are clearly better.

Oddly enough, Alonso might not have been the most deserving player on his own team. Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and outfielder Brandon Nimmo have both more than doubled Alonso’s Fangraphs WAR so far this year.

“The process is the process,” Lovullo said. “We respect it.

“Guys get left off all the time. It happened to Ketel [Marte] last year. But it motivated him into what he is this year. I know Walk is feeling the same way.”

Torey Lovullo on his message to Christian Walker before his walk-off homer:

"I told him to hit it to the f'ing moon." pic.twitter.com/nMhxH1HzkM

— PHNX Diamondbacks (@PHNX_Dbacks) May 1, 2024

Technically, there is still hope that Walker could make the NL All-Star roster as an injury substitute. Harper, a fellow first baseman, is currently on the 10-day injured list for a hamstring injury. However, he is expected to return in time for the midsummer classic.

Both Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts and Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. are hurt and not expected to play. It seems unlikely that the league would select Walker to replace a player that plays a different position, but that sort of thing has happened before.

“We’re gonna keep our fingers crossed,” Lovullo said.

After Sunday’s game, Lovullo met with Walker in his office. An All-Star appearance might not be in the cards this time around, but Lovullo told Walker that his time was coming.

“It’ll happen at some point,” Lovullo said. “You’re just too good of a player.”

Perhaps those words will prove to be true. Even at age 33, Walker only seems to be getting better.

Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks, if Walker does eventually make that elusive first All-Star team, he might not be a member of the Diamondbacks when it happens. Walker is set to become a free agent at the end of the year, and he figures to be a hot commodity.

If this is Walker’s last chance to represent the Diamondbacks as an All-Star, it will be a shame that it had to go like this.

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Top photo: Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports