Clayton Kershaw falls short in Final Vote, but will he still go to All-Star Game?

By Jon Weisman

Despite a great effort from his supporters — which he acknowledged in a rare tweet — Clayton Kershaw finished third in the MLB All-Star Final Vote, with Carlos Martinez of St. Louis earning the bid to the All-Star Game.

Ending Twitter hibernation to thank everyone who voted for me! Very cool to see the turn out regardless of the results!

— Clayton Kershaw (@ClaytonKersh22) July 10, 2015

Count me among those unconvinced that Kershaw won’t be in Cincinnati for the Midsummer Classic next week. With the other pitcher in the Final Vote competition, Johnny Cueto, scheduled to start on Sunday, Kershaw is a clear first alternate should any of the existing 14 pitchers on the squad drop out. (Not that Kershaw should be in this limbo in the first place.)

For that matter, after some amount of doubt earlier this week, Washington righty Max Scherzer now is also scheduled to pitch Sunday, which could affect not only his potential selection as a starter over the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke, but his presence on the roster altogether.

In general, there’s usually a good bit of roster shuffling before the first pitch Tuesday. There’s an argument that Kershaw would benefit from the rest, but as far as I’m concerned, if he wants to go, then I want him to go. And he has been clear that he’d appreciate going.

#Dodgers Clayton Kershaw on Final Vote results: "You always want to go to All-Star Game so, yeah, there's a little disappointment there."

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) July 10, 2015

“You always want to go,” Kershaw told Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles this week. “You never know — it might not ever happen again. I said that last year, and, if I make it this year, I’ll say it again.”