Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story is in the midst of an extremely impressive rookie campaign, and is currently in the running for the final spot on the National League All-Star game. The Esurance MLB All-Star Final Vote is an opportunity for five players in each league to be voted into the All-Star Game via a fan vote.
Story currently leads all Major League shortstops with 21 home runs and his .550 slugging percentage is good for second. In Thursday night’s win against the Phillies, he tied Albert Pujols and Dave Kingman for most home runs hit by a National League rookie before the All-Star break. The list goes on and on about how historic Story’s start has been, but his play is only half the reason he should make the team.
The recent era of young stars in the sport of baseball have brought excitement and energy to America’s past time. The “make baseball fun again” movement was started by Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper. Harper’s ability to bring a crowd to it’s feet is exactly the kind of player the sport is looking to breed for the future.
Everybody knows who LeBron James is and everyone knows who Tom Brady is, but not everyone knows who Bryce Harper is, meaning Major League baseball needs an identity, and the up-and-coming wave of young talent could be just that. Guys like Harper, Mike Trout, Manny Machado, and Nolan Areando all have the opportunity to put the sport of baseball back on the map, and Story could be added to that list.
Story burst on to the National spotlight with his historic start which included six homeruns in his first four games of his career. That energy is exactly what will help re-brand the sport.
Story is up against Brandon Belt, Starling Marte, Jake Lamb, and Ryan Braun. Of the four candidates Story is the youngest, brightest, and most promising of the bunch, meaning having Story in the game would be best for both himself and for the future of baseball.
