The Carceral State and the 1976 All-Star Game

In 1976, the Detroit Tigers were not a particularly good team. They ended up with a .460 winning percentage, trailing the first place Yankees in the AL East by 24 games. Even by the All-Star break, the Tigers were already 11 games behind the Yankees and had an unimpressive .481 winning percentage. Given that, it was a bit of surprise that when the National and American League faced off in the All-Star Game in Philadelphia, there were three Tigers in the AL’s starting lineup and only one Yankee. Five more Yankees made the team as backups and no Tigers did, but it was nonetheless strange to have three All-Star starters from a pretty mediocre team.