Colorado Rockies: It’s Time to #VoteNolan and #VoteStory

When the first National League voting results for the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game were announced on Wednesday, the Colorado Rockies were represented … but not represented enough.

In the race for starting at third base, Nolan Arenado trailed Chicago’s Kris Bryant by roughly 183,000 votes. Bryant (776,107) and Arenado (593,691) far and away lead in voting at the position with New York’s David Wright (now on the disabled list) coming in third, more than 400,000 votes behind Arenado.

It’s literally a two-horse race for the spot at third base … and for good reason. Heading into Friday’s action, Arenado and Bryant are statistically the two best third basemen in the National League … but Arenado holds the edge in some pretty important categories.

Arenado — 17 HR, 44 RBI, .287 average, .594 SLG, .952 OPS, 23 strikeouts

Bryant — 13 HR, 40 RBI, .279 average, .520 SLG, .883 OPS, 49 strikeouts

Additionally, Arenado has the highest fielding percentage among NL qualifiers at third base with a .994 mark. Bryant? Well, he’s had almost less than half (458 versus 240.2) the number of innings at third as Arenado … and has a .957 fielding percentage.

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Please, remind me again why Arenado should be trailing in the All-Star voting? Oh that’s right. It’s a popularity contest … and the Cubs are more popular nationwide than the Rockies. Right.

At shortstop, the voting is closer as Trevor Story was being outpaced by Chicago’s Addison Russell by just under 10,000 votes. Story’s rise has been well-documented from fighting for the position in spring training to home runs sensation and it’s obviously translated over to the national stage … but he’s still trailing Addison Russell?

Russell came into Friday hitting .237 (seriously) with four homers and 30 RBI. Story has him beat in all categories (.261, 15 HR, 38 RBI). So how is Russell leading this category over Story or Corey Seager or even Zack Cozart? Oh yeah, he plays for the Cubs.

The Cubs not only lead at shortstop and third base, but, if All-Star voting were to have ended with the first set of results, the Cubs would have the entire starting infield and Dexter Fowler starting in the outfield. Also, just a guess, but Chicago’s Jake Arrieta might make the All-Star roster as well. We know, it’s a stretch, but that guy’s not a bad pitcher.

Does Chicago have an edge when it comes to voting? Absolutely. With WGN as one of the original superstations, many children of the 1980s grew up as Cubs fans, watching Rick Sutcliffe and Ryne Sandberg and listening to Harry Caray through television sets around the nation. “1984” wasn’t just a George Orwell novel. It was the year the nation fell in love with the Chicago Cubs.

But hey, this is 2016. Let’s make a deal right here, right now. Let’s work together as Rockies Nation to see the left side of the All-Star Game infield call Denver home. It’s pretty simple. You need to vote now … and you need to vote later as well … and then again after that. You can cast your votes for starters a total of 35 times, including a maximum of five valid ballots cast in any 24-hour period.

There’s no question that the Rockies have been through a rough stretch recently, including a head-shaking series loss to the Cincinnati Reds to end their recent homestand. However, Arenado and Story have continued to do their jobs at the plate and in the field. They deserve to be recognized on a national level for the work they do, night in and night out.

The Cubs have also been the darlings of “this is the year” predictions for the last two seasons. People are passionate about the Cubs and the first round of voting shows that. However, I believe people in this region are just as passionate about the Rockies as well.

Voting for the All-Star Game ends on June 30 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. It’s time, Colorado Rockies fans, to show your passion and get our guys in the starting lineup. They deserve it, and our franchise deserves some national attention for something other than the game being played a mile above sea level.

Next: Why Colorado Needs Boone Logan Back in the Bullpen

Vote here. It’s easy.

#VoteNolan

#VoteStory

#VoteRox