Once again Major League Baseball's All-Star teams will be a concoction of some of the best players in the game - and a bunch of guys who had a good first half of the season.

MLB's brilliant idea of allowing the fans to vote in the starters - America's biggest popularity contest - usually works out, but it's way too much power for the fans to have their hands on.

The rest of the process involves the players getting to vote for the reserves for each team, the managers making sure each team is represented by one player, and finally, the last spot on each roster is voted by the fans from a list of five players.

Right now, managers choose a few players, players choose the rest of the reserves, fans choose one reserve and all of the starters. There's a better way to vote so that all parties involved have equal say in the starters and reserves.

Why let the fans control 100 percent of the starters?

While I'm confident in the baseball knowledge of many of my fellow Americans, everybody has an agenda. These all-star ballots - where anybody can vote as many times as they want - not only don't make sense, but sends the wrong message.

My vote is to stop making this a popularity contest and start making it about the combination of fans, players, managers and the numbers. There are too many times when you look at a ballot and say, "I really want to vote for that guy" or "I don't want to vote for any of the players listed."

Some of these inconsistencies could be eliminated.

Step One

First, I would eliminate fans being the sole voters for the All-Star Game starters. Make it into what I will call the quarter system: Where starters are selected by one-quarter vote from the fans, one-quarter vote from the managers, one-quarter vote from the players and one quarter based on the players' individual numbers.

The "All-Star Number" would give a number to each player based on average, hits, home runs, doubles, triples and every other statistical category (with a separate one for pitchers). Based on that number, the player would get a ranking at his position - almost like a fantasy number ratings system. This also would hold true for the starting pitcher and one closer.

Step Two

Reserves, one at each position and remaining pitchers, would be chosen based on a "one-thirds rule" of selection. The voting for reserves would be one-third based on fans' vote or the runner up in voting, one-third based on players' votes and one-third based on the aforementioned "All-Star Number."

This eliminates managers trying to choose their own players to the team as a reserve and also allows the fans to have a say in the entire team. The players get a say in reserves, but not 100 percent and the "All-Star Number" is again a factor in who gets to go. An all-star player selected based on his numbers and not reputation - unheard of to some fans.

Step Three

The manager's job will be to select players to add to the team and players to take off the team, so all teams are represented with at least one player.

The job of a manager is to manage the team - in this case he must have one representative from each team, but that means some players who were chosen would be taken off. With players who were removed, we move them to the final step.

Step Four

The players who the manager had to remove then become the players fans can vote on for the final selection. The final players picked, one from each league, will be 100 percent chosen by the fans. Essentially all of the players were voted on, but because of the rule of having one player from each team in the All-Star Game, not all of them will be able to go.

All-stars are supposed to be the best players in the game. Because of the current process, I'm not sure the 2005 All-Star Game will feature the 32 best players from each league - but we'll keep trying to perfect the process again in 2006.

J. Ryan Mulcrone is the State News sports general assignment reporter. He can be reached at mulcron3@msu.edu.