Phillies fans are ruining the All-Star voting experience for everyone

Philadelphia Phillies fans are known for being among the most passionate fans in MLB. There's a reason that whenever the Phillies are competitive, Citizens Bank Park is the last place teams (except for the Arizona Diamondbacks) want to play.

Phillies fans are making their presence felt in the latest National League All-Star Game ballot update, but in the worst possible way.

Phillies fans making a mockery of the All-Star Game

Take a look at the latest balloting results, courtesy of USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

I get it. Phillies fans want to see their own players get rewarded with All-Star Game appearances, but c'mon. What exactly are we doing here?

The 51-26 Phillies absolutely deserve to have multiple All-Stars. Guys like Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm who are leading their positions (and the National League as a whole) in votes absolutely deserve to be All-Stars, but that doesn't mean every single player on this team deserves to be on the team. If voting were to end today, six of the nine starters for the Phillies would advance to Phase 2 of the All-Star voting, and the only three who wouldn't are on the cusp of getting in.

J.T. Realmuto has been nowhere near his former star self, yet he slots in ahead of Will Smith, arguably the best all-around catcher in the game. This is even more egregious because Realmuto is hurt, and almost certainly won't be playing in the All-Star Game even if he gets voted in.

Trea Turner has had a great season when healthy, but he's played in just 38 games for Philadelphia, missing almost a full month and a half due to injury. Should he really be ahead of players like Elly De La Cruz, Willy Adames, and even Francisco Lindor?

Bryson Stott, a solid young player, is having a down year, hitting .238 with a sub-.700 OPS. He's nowhere near deserving of All-Star consideration, but he's on Luis Arraez' heals somehow.

Nick Castellanos would advance to Phase 2 despite posting just a .670 OPS so far this season (even with some better play of late) and the usual poor defense. He has been worth -0.2 bWAR for crying out loud! Brandon Marsh, another player who has missed time due to injury, has had a down year relative to last season's breakout and is somehow ahead of a player like Cody Bellinger.

None of these are more egregious than Johan Rojas, a player who was just optioned back down to the minors, ranking seventh among NL outfielders in votes. Rojas being anywhere near potentially going to the next phase of voting is exactly why many believe fans should not be voting at all.

Phillies fans deserve respect for being seemingly the only NL fan base that cares enough to vote for its own players, but they're ruining the All-Star Game experience for everyone else by not voting for those deserving to get in. They're abusing the privilege fans have to vote. If a Phillie is deserving or even close to being deserving, by all means, vote for said player. If a Phillie like Johan Rojas is in the minors, choose someone else who deserves it.