The MLB All-Star Game is just a few days away, bringing baseball fans an opportunity to see some of the league’s biggest and best players all in one place. And while the Midsummer Classic is always fun—especially things like the Home Run Derby—it doesn’t always bring together the most deserving players.
With the skewed voting system, in some cases, the biggest and most popular name gets the nod over someone else who should really be there. And whether or not a guy was supposed to be there, if there’s any question about his selection, when he goes into a major slump following the game, that’s when fans start to wonder.
Want to know the worst culprits? Take a look at these ballplayers who struggled mightily after they made MLB’s All-Star Game, falling into a serious slump.
6. Kosuke Fukudome (2008)
In the world of online voting and fans stuffing the ballot box to get “their guys” to the All-Star Game, no one may have been more of a beneficiary of getting a nod to the Midsummer Classic than Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs in 2008.
Playing in his first season in the States after coming over from Japan, he got off to a pretty good start, going for .279, with 7 homers and 36 RBI in the first half of the season. That’s when shit went downhill, though, and fast.
Batting just .217 in the second half with 3 dingers and 22 RBI in only 175 at bats, Fukudome not only stole a roster spot on the NL All-Star team from more deserving players, but then shit the bed with an ugly rest of the season.
At least he’ll always be remembered for having one of the great last names in baseball history.
5. Derek Jeter (2014)
Look, I get why former New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter made the AL All-Star team in 2014. It was his final season in the Bigs and the fans wanted to see “The Captain” playing among baseball’s finest one last time to send him off properly.
Batting a respectable .272 in the first half of that season, Jeter dipped to a pathetic .235 following the All-Star Break, totaling just 12 extra-base hits and scoring 16 runs in the final 62 games of his illustrious career.
No one expect Jeter to tear it up down the stretch, but, man, those are pretty disgusting numbers.
4. Scott Cooper (1994)
What makes former Boston Red Sox third baseman Scott Cooper’s All-Star Game nod so strange is that it actually happened in back-to-back years, so someone gone and fucked up twice!
The major slump for Cooper came in the second half of 1994, though, when he appeared in just 21 games for the Sox and put up stats that a little-leaguer would be embarrassed by: 17 hits in 71 at bats for a .239 average with 0 homers and just 3 RBI.
Ugly stuff from a guy who can actually claim to be a two-time All-Star.
3. Tyler Green (1995)
Just take a peek at former MLB pitcher Tyler Green’s overall record for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1995 season and you’ll honestly wonder how in the fuck this guy was an All-Star.
Finishing with a record of 8-9 and an ERA of 5.31, Green sucked some serious horse dong while on the bump after his “breakout” first half to the season—where he posted a record of 8-4 with 2.81 ERA.
Yep, not winning a single game after playing in the Midsummer Classic makes Green one of the worst post-All-Star Game players you’ll ever witness.
2. Mike Williams (2003)
I actually don’t know what in the fuck to say about this one, because former MLB reliever Mike Williams should have never even been on the All-Star ballot in 2003 while a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Entering the Midsummer Classic with an 0-3 record and a impossible to believe 6.29 ERA—yes, that’s real—Williams, not shockingly, sucked ass even more in the second half of the season.
Traded from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, the closer lost all four games with the Phillies, posting a 1-7 record with seven blown saves and a hideous 6.14 ERA on the season—but, hey, at least he lowered his ERA in the second half by a little bit.
1. Lenny Dykstra (1995)
Man, what in the fuck was going on with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1995?
While I mentioned Lenny Dykstra’s teammate on the Phils that year, Tyler Green, as a major bust following his only All-Star Game appearance, Dykstra was actually even worse—all season long.
Not only was Lenny undeserving of the nod after hitting just .262 with 0 homers and 15 RBI in the first half, the dude managed to only play in 16 more games the rest of the season due to injury—which is the same one that ended his MLB career the next year.
Dykstra’s ’95 season was like watching a burning ship slowly sinking into the ocean.