I realize that Im probably in the minority here, but I love that Jack Armstrong started the 1990 All-Star Game for the National League.Why bring up a random starting pitcher from an exhibition game nearly three decades ago? Because were getting close to the time All-Star rosters are announced, and youre about to hear the same grumbling we hear every year Yasiel Puig Jersey about the composition of those rosters.Its the All-Star team, not the All-Three-Month-Sample-Size team! Or this cla sic: The fans didnt pay good money to see guys theyve never heard of!Sorry. I dont buy it. The All-Star Game is a celebration of the best in the sport, sure, but its also a reflection of the current season. I want to see the Jack Armstrongs of the baseball world step onto the biggest and brightest midseason stage for a chance to shine.MORE:Armstrong, you might remember, was a 25-year-old Reds right-hander who cameout of nowhere he owned a career 5.33 ERA in 23 games (21 starts) over two years heading into 1990 and bulldozed his way through the National League in the first half of the season. When he took the mound at Wrigley Field and threw the first pitch that night, Armstrong owned an 11-3 record, a 2.28 ERA and 1.099 WHIP for Cincinnati. Remember, at the time those were the statistics that mattered; we didnt have WAR or FIP or any of the other wonderful evaluation tools/stats available now.Armstrong got the starting nod over more established veterans having good Babe Herman Jersey seasons, guys like Frank Viola (the 1988 AL Cy Young winner who had a 13-3 record with a 2.20 ERA for the Mets) or Dennis Martinez (who had a 2.84 ERA for the Expos).It was Armstrongs first All-Star nod, and turns out, his only All-Star nod. He quickly became the poster boy for the Superstars only! crowd, largely because his career took a dive. After throwing two shutout innings against the AL, he had a 5.96 ERA in the second half of the 1990 season though he did throw three shutout innings in Game 2 of Cincinnatis stunning World Series sweep of the mighty As and a 5.48 ERA in 1991 before he was traded. He had a 4.54 ERA over the next three years, for Cleveland, Florida and Texas and to sed his final MLB pitch just 41 days after his 29th birthday.Armstrongs firstany onlyAll-Star appearance looks like a fluke A. J. Pollock Jersey in retrospect. | | But you know what other players made their first All-Star appearance that year? Hall of Fame talents Ken GriffeyJr Don Sutton Jersey ., Randy Johnson, Roberto Alomar and Barry Bonds, and other multiple-time All-Stars, including Sandy Alomar Jr. (six All-Star games), Matt Williams (five), Dennis Martinez (four), Randy Myers (four), Cecil Fielder (three), Lenny Dykstra (three), Rob Dibble (two) and Ellis Burks (two).Those players all had better careers than Armstrong, no doubt. But that doesnt mean they deserved to be in Chicago more than Armstrong on that July day in 1990.I love that Armstrong was in that group.Sure, it was good fortune on his part that the best three-month stretch of his career just happened to line up in a way that put him in position to have the honor of starting the All-Star Game for the National League. But why is that a bad thing?I love that the All-Star Game gives any player the stars and the unknowns a chance to step onto a big stage. Thats a good thing. Yes, its great when the game celebrates the superstars, but the game will always have superstars. Superstars produce great numbers on a regular basis, and they deserve to be at the Midsummer Cla sic. Thats why theyre superstars.But they dont get a free pa s into the contest.RIVERA: Lets look at one current example. Jose Altuve is one of the very best players in the sport, of course, and if Im starting a hypothetical franchise and picking a second baseman Joe Kelly Jersey to put on my roster, hed probably be my very first choice. But if Im looking at the three finalists for a starting spot at second base for the 2019 AL All-Star team, hes third behind Tommy La Stella (zero ASG) and DJ LeMahieu ( Clayton Kershaw Jersey two).La Stella and LeMahieu are having superior seasons, in part because Altuves spent time on the injured list and has only 196 plate appearances. LeMahieu has a 3.2 fWAR and La Stellas at2.1, with Altuve back at 0.8. The All-Star Game will survive without Altuve for one season, and in La Stellas case, a trip to Cleveland for his very first All-Star appearance will provide a career highlight hell never forget.Give me Ketel Marte over Mike Moustakas at NL second base, or Jorge Polanco over Carlos Correa at AL shortstop, or Joey Gallo over Aaron Judge in the AL outfield.Give me celebrations of players having breakthrough seasons. Lets celebrate the best of the 2019 season at the 2019 All-Star Game.