All-Star picks only bolster pedigrees of Rendon, Scherzer

History doesn't much remember how somebody made it to the All-Star Game, only that he made it at all.

So even though there will always be those aghast that Anthony Rendon finished fifth in fan voting among all National League third basemen, in the end he's an All-Star and it doesn't matter all that much how it happened.

If anything, Rendon might be more touched by the manner in which he was finally selected to his first Midsummer Classic. It wasn't as a result of a popularity contest among fans, but of a vote among his peers. Rendon's fellow players selected him (he finished second to Nolan Arenado among third basemen), and that probably means more to the 29-year-old than receiving millions of votes from fans.

Rendon has always been appreciated more by those inside baseball than those outside the sport. It's just never been enough to earn major accolades. He may be a first-time All-Star, but he's been worthy of a spot on the roster in four of his six full big league seasons.

Through it all, the attention-averse Rendon has not-so-jokingly campaigned for everyone to not vote for him so he can go home to Houston over the break and stay out of the spotlight for a few days. And even with this selection, it's not a 100 percent lock he'll be in Cleveland next week for the festivities, not if he can argue he's been playing through some kind of minor ailment and needs the break.

In a perfect world, Rendon would make the trip. He'd "suffer" through the 45-minute media availability session, sign a bunch of memorabilia, hang out with the best players in the sport and maybe play a couple innings in next Tuesday's game and allow Joe Buck and John Smoltz to rave about him for a few seconds on the national broadcast.

Even if that doesn't happen, Rendon's achievement won't be diminished. He's long been recognized by those in the know as one of the best all-around players in baseball. And this only bolsters the argument, whether he plays in the All-Star Game or not.

Max Scherzer, of course, didn't need this selection to bolster his case for anything. The right-hander already has more than established himself as one of the very best of his generation and keeps climbing higher on the list of all-time great pitchers.

Scherzer has now been selected to seven consecutive All-Star Games. Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux never made more than five in a row. Randy Johnson never made more than four in a row. Roger Clemens never made more than three in a row.

And, yes, those are the guys he now keeps company with. He's earned that respect during this remarkable seven-year run.

Scherzer's ranks among all major league pitchers since 2013 (minimum 1,000 innings): first in wins (115), first in innings (1,435 1/3), first in strikeouts (1,790), first in WAR (46.0), second in WHIP (0.977), third in ERA (2.78).

Throw in those three Cy Young Awards, plus three more top-five finishes, and it's becoming safer and safer to say where he's going to be enshrined five years after he retires.

And now he's got a seventh All-Star selection on his resume, and you know Scherzer will enjoy every minute of the festivities (provided he's not dealing with far more important family matters, given that wife Erica is due to give birth to the couple's second child very soon).

Maybe Scherzer can even show Rendon how to have fun at an All-Star Game, how to embrace the spotlight for once, how to ... eh, who are we kidding? We know who Rendon is. It's just not in his DNA to get swept up in All-Star mania.

Which is perfectly fine. Just as Scherzer is allowed to be who he is, so is Rendon.

All that matters is this fact: Both Scherzer and Rendon are 2019 All-Stars. And that can never be taken away from either Nationals star.