Bob Ford: Midsummer Classic is marred by gimmicks

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, July, 2008 | by Bob Ford Inquirer Columnist

Pat Burrell got my vote yesterday. It took about 10 seconds. He's in the running to be the final player added to the National League all-star roster. I've said many times before this season that Burrell is the last guy I expected to be an all-star, so it seemed appropriate. If I had applied myself at that pace, he could have gotten probably another 15,000 votes just from me.

Major League Baseball, which thinks of everything, makes it very easy. You can vote online as many times as you'd like, or you can text Bud Selig's cell phone directly with the vote. That's what I did. I texted Bud, and he responded right away. "You voted for Burrell in the Monster All-Star Final Vote. Vote again. Ends 7/10 at 5 p.m. ET. Try All-Star Alerts, Text 'Get ASG' to 65246. Std msg fees...