Robin Yount Only Made Three All-Star Teams: What Gives?

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FRED JEWELL ASSOCIATED PRESS

FRED LYNN ALL STAR GRAND SLAM

Robin Yount celebrates with teammates during the 1983 All-Star Game in Chicago. Yount had over 1,600 hits, 35 WAR, and an MVP award ahead of him, but would never again make an All-Star team.

This week’s MLB All-Star Game will be a nice break for Brewers fans. Not only does it mean some very badly-needed days off, but five Brewers—a franchise record—have been selected for this year’s NL squad. Which brings up one of the oddest bits of trivia in both Brewers and All-Star Game history: Hall of Famer Robin Yount was named to just three All-Star teams over his 20-year career.

That is the lowest for any Hall of Famer who debuted after the inception of the game. In fact, only six other HOFers were named to six or fewer All-Star teams. Among Brewers, Yount was granted All-Star status as many times as Dan Plesac or Ben Oglivie, and less often than Don Money or Ben Sheets.

So why did Robin get such a historical shaft? Let’s take a look back at six seasons in which the Kid could have, or should have, made the American League squad.

1975

Yount at the break: .289 avg., .342 slugging pct.

Brewers All-Stars: Hank Aaron (DH), George Scott (1B)

AL Shortstops: Bert Campaneris, Bucky Dent, Toby Harrah

For the 1975 game—held at Milwaukee County Stadium—the 19-year-old Yount was nearly elected as the AL’s starting shortstop, placing second to Oakland’s Campanaris 1,172,258 votes to 1,005,878. American League manager Al Dark had a chance to add Yount to the squad as a reserve shortstop, but instead went with Chicago’s Bucky Dent and Texas’s Toby Harrah. Harrah was an obvious pick, but Dent’s numbers were so similar to Yount’s, Dark could have easily given the hometown kid the honors instead. Milwaukee fans let him hear it during pregame introductions, booing the Oakland manager and his shortstops heartily.

1977

Yount at the break: .304 avg., 11 steals

Brewers All-Stars: Jim Slaton (P), Don Money (3B)

AL Shortstops: Rick Burleson, Bert Campanaris

Yount had a higher batting average than either AL All-Star shortstop by the time of the break, but had finished fifth in the fan voting and was then passed over by AL manager Billy Martin for the only reserve SS spot on the team. It’s hard to see what Martin saw in Campy over Yount—Robin had the better average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. But the Rangers needed an All-Star, and with Slaton and Money already repping Milwaukee, Martin gave Yount the shaft and honored the 35-year-old Campanaris.

1984

Yount at the break: .299 avg., .370 on base pct., 7 HRs, 42 RBI

Brewers All-Stars: Jim Sundberg (C)

AL Shortstops: Cal Ripken, Alfredo Griffin, Alan Trammel

By 1984, Yount was an established star—a three-time All Star and an MVP award winner. But Cal Ripken was just as big a name and coming off a World Series win and his own MVP award. So you can hardly blame the fans for going with Ripken. Ripken’s manager, Joe Altobelli, was skippering the AL squad and indicated leading up to the game that he would pick Yount as a reserve. But he ended up picking Detroit’s Allan Trammel, who was a decent enough pick. But when Trammel pulled out of the game at the last moment, Altobelli again passed over Yount for Toronto’s Alfredo Griffin. Yount led Griffin in batting average (.299 to .241), on base percentage (.370 to .250!!) slugging percentage (.431 to .317), homers (7 to 4), doubles (17 to 5), hits (100 to 60)… and it just goes on like this. So what gives? Well, despite Yount having the clear statistical advantage, Griffin had the undisputable advantage of already being in San Francisco, where the ’84 game was being held. He had gone along with teammate Damaso Garcia and was literally the nearest warm body who just happened to be an AL shortstop. He remains one of the least-likely All-Stars of all-time.

1986

Yount at the break: .330 avg., .405 on base pct., 90 hits, 18 2Bs, 3 3Bs

Brewers All-Stars: Ted Higuera (P)

AL Outfielders: Kirby Puckett, Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Harold Baines, Jesse Barfield, Jose Canseco, Lloyd Moseby, Jim Rice

Mired in last place, Yount found it no easier getting All-Star love as an outfielder than as a shortstop. Ignored by voters, he was also passed over for the reserves in favor of Jesse Barfield (21 homers), Harold Baines (.316 batting average – 15 points behind Yount), Jose Canseco (23 homers), Jim Rice (.334 batting average), and Lloyd Moseby (21 steals and 13 homers). It was a tough field of very decent to great hitters, but Yount was once again left out of the midsummer classic.

1987

Yount at the break: .301 avg, .469 slugging pct., 11 HRs

Brewers All-Star: Dan Plesac (RP)

AL Outfielders: George Bell, Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield, Harold Baines, Larry Parrish, Kirby Puckett

While not much can be said against starters Bell, Henderson, and Winfield, reserve OF Harold Baines once again put up strikingly similar numbers to Yount with Robin being left off the team. Baines had the advantage, however, of being a stand-out on a last-place team and got the nod as the lone Sox representative.

1989

Yount at the break: .299 avg., 10 HRs, .837 on base pct.

Brewers All-Stars: Dan Plesac (RP)

AL Outfielders: Kirby Puckett, Ruben Sierra, Bo Jackson, Jose Canseco, Mike Greenwell, Devon White

Only three times between 1957 and 1989 had a player been snubbed for the All-Star game and then gone on to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award. Given Yount’s lousy luck with the Midsummer Classic, it only seemed fitting that he become the fourth. By the break, 1989 seemed like another typical Yount year, which is maybe why it got so little attention.

Yount’s stat line was very close to Boston’s Mike Greenwell (Yount had the slightly higher OPS), making the choice between the two a virtual toss-up. But Yount was easily better than rookie Devon White, besting him in batting average by 40 points and on base percentage by almost 90 points. Yount also had more homers, doubles, and triples. But White had 25 steals to Yount’s eight (although White had been caught seven times and Yount had not been caught at all) and was having a terrific defensive season. After the break, Yount seriously raked, batting .339 and running up an AL-best .964 OPS on his march towards his second AL MVP award.

A big part of what kept Yount idle at midseason is what made him such a great player in the first place: low-key consistency. At the mid-point in any given year, he was batting around .300, barely striking out, with a good dose of power and speed. They were the kind of numbers that get lost among gaudy and unsustainable first-halves. Then they’d play the All-Star Game without him, and he’d come back out in the second half and do the same thing. Do that for about ten years, with some growing pain seasons and decline years on either end and you’ve managed to very quietly put together a Hall of Fame career.