There weren't many surprises when the MLB's All-Star Game starters were announced earlier this week. As determined by a fan vote between April 29 and July 2, the rosters for both the American and National League include some of the game's most promising talent.
During that same period though, Facebook's data team was formulating its own All-Star teams based on a different measurement -- the number of mentions each player receives on the social network.
[seealso url = "http://sale-online.click/2015/07/02/home-run-derby-2015/"]
After looking at the overall Facebook conversation, the team then formulated starting rosters made up of position players who received the most Facebook mentions.
Here's a comparison of Facebook's rosters and the real rosters determined by the fan vote:
American League
Facebook:
Catcher: Salvador Perez (Royals)
1st Base: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers)
2nd Base: Jose Altuve (Astros)
Shortstop: Jose Reyes (Blue Jays)
3rd Base: Josh Donaldson (Blue Jays)
Outfield: Mike Trout (Angels), Torii Hunter (Twins) , Carlos Beltran (Yankees)
Designated Hitter: Alex Rodriguez (Yankees)
Fan Vote:
Catcher: Salvador Perez, Royals
1st Base: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
2nd Base: Jose Altuve, Astros
Shortstop: Alcides Escobar, Royals
3rd Base: Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays
Outfield: Mike Trout (Angels), Lorenzo Cain (Royals), Alex Gordon (Royals)
Designated Hitter: Nelson Cruz (Mariners)
National League
Facebook:
Catcher: Buster Posey (Giants) #28
1st Base: Adrian Gonzalez (Dodgers)
2nd Base: Brandon Phillips (Reds)
Shortstop: Brandon Crawford (Giants)
3rd Base: David Wright (Mets)
Outfield: Bryce Harper (Nationals), Andrew McCutchen (Pirates), Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins)
Fan vote:
C Buster Posey, Giants
1B Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
2B Dee Gordon, Marlins
SS Jhonny Peralta, Cardinals
3B Todd Frazier, Reds
Outfield: Bryce Harper (Nationals), Matt Holliday (Cardinals) Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins)
Since fans can't select a starting pitcher in the regular All-Star Game voting, Facebook only accounted for position players. Still, altogether, Facebook's rosters feature nine players who are not All-Star starters.
The top overall player in Facebook mentions was Alex Rodriguez -- who is not an All-Star -- followed by Bryce Harper.
Facebook also compared American League and National League fandoms, making a color-coded map that shows which has more Facebook "Likes." The AL has a slight edge, with 54% of fans favoring teams in that league.
