Ken Rosenthal claims Pete Alonso bargained his way into the All-Star Game

Jul 11, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) reacts after a single during the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

There was not a bigger snub in this year’s All-Star Game voting than Diamondbacks’ first baseman Christian Walker. Despite leading Pete Alonso in almost every statistical category, Walker will be watching the All-Star game from home while Alonso will be in Arlington playing alongside the game’s biggest stars.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

A snapshot of how the two first basemen compare statistically in the first half of the MLB season:

Credits to @dfeely14

1 of these guys was named an all star, 1 was not…

Christian Walker NEEDS to be an all star… WHAT A JOKE pic.twitter.com/Y80HIUPncA

— Dalton Feely (@dfeely14) July 7, 2024

So, how did Pete Alonso manage to secure an All-Star Game spot over Christian Walker? According to Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports, Alonso essentially told Major League Baseball that he would only participate in the Home Run Derby if he were elected to the All-Star Game.

Rosenthal commented on his Fair Territory podcast, “Pete Alonso does not really deserve to be an All-Star, not over Brandon Nimmo, not over Francisco Lindor. But he’s in the game because he indicated that he won’t be in the derby unless he’s in the game, and they needed him in the derby.”

Fair Territory with @alannarizzo!

*HR Derby field

*NYY, LAD woes

*TOR injuries

*Dude, dork of week

*Your questions

*More

YouTube: https://t.co/uqhaFSzN4E
Apple: https://t.co/La8CtAsgBr
Spotify: https://t.co/KgBu47QdPj

On the Derby: pic.twitter.com/zYI5xJ8C9b

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 11, 2024

Major League Baseball needed Alonso in the derby due to the lack of talent in this year’s HR Derby, with only three players from the top-10 home run leaders participating. Sluggers such as Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, and Ronald Acuna Jr. all declined to join.

Using his bargaining power as a two-time derby champion (2019 & 2021), Alonso managed to secure his fifth All-Star game appearance by promising to put on a home run show for fans, at least according to Ken Rosenthal.

Meanwhile, Christian Walker, who made a solid case for his first-ever All-Star game appearance, will be at home, despite hitting four more home runs than Alonso and, once again, leading in practically every other statistical category.