Anthony Rendon is an All-Star. Finally.

Once again, the fans did not vote Rendon to be the starting third baseman for the National League (he finished fifth at his position). However, in a shocking break from tradition, the powers that be actually selected him to be a reserve. To paraphrase a 2017 quote from former Washington Nationals teammate Daniel Murphy, they must have finally gone to FanGraphs. As such, they knew that heading into Sunday's announcement, Rendon ranked 12th in the majors in WAR among position players, and second among NL third basemen. In other words, Rendon has been one of the best players in baseball this year. Still, he gets no love from the electorate. This should come as no surprise.

Since the beginning of 2014, his first full season in the majors, Rendon has established himself as one of the best all-around players in the bigs. During that time, he has amassed a total of 27.9 WAR, which ranks seventh among all position players. The top 30 players on that list have combined to make 78 All-Star appearances over the past five seasons, and every one of them has been to the Midsummer Classic at least once -- except for Rendon. Until this week, he was basically MLB's version of Glenn Close.

If you're a baseball fan, you probably know Close from the classic 1984 flick "The Natural." She played Iris Gaines, Roy Hobbs' hometown girlfriend, a role that earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination from Academy Award voters. It was the third time she was nominated, and the third time she lost. Since then, Close has received four more Oscar nominations (including earlier this year for "The Wife"), and all four times she's whiffed. If you're scoring at home, she's now 0-for-7 lifetime and is arguably the greatest actress who has never won an Academy Award.

Unlike the Oscar voters' repeated snubbing of Close, the fact that All-Star balloters have never voted in Rendon is only mildly surprising. After all, the fan balloting is typically dominated by players whose teams draw really well and/or have an intensely passionate following, and the Nats don't really fit into either category. Plus, stat-stuffer guys like Rendon -- versatile players who do a bunch of things well but don't have one obviously eye-popping stat -- tend to get lost in the shuffle. Especially when they're pathologically quiet, like a certain Nats third baseman.

Having said all that, the fact Rendon had never been named a reserve -- an honor not determined by the masses and therefore considered to be significantly more meritocratic than the fan vote -- was a whole lot harder to swallow. But not impossible. Here's how it happened:

2014: The Nobody Really Knew Who He Was Yet Year

The fans messed this one up royally by voting Aramis Ramirez as the NL starter, despite a first half in which Milwaukee's third baseman posted a relatively ho-hum .795 OPS and accounted for an even ho-hummer 1.3 WAR. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny then chose Cincy's Todd Frazier (deserving) and Cardinals corner man Matt Carpenter (questionable) as the NL's reserves.

Fun fact: Rendon's 3.8 WAR at the break that year was the best among all National League third basemen, just ahead of Frazier's 3.6 WAR.

Bonus fun fact: In his first full season, Rendon went on to finish fifth in the MVP voting.

(Glenn) Close but no cigar scale*: 5.5. It's tempting to go higher here based solely on the data, but like it or not, it takes time for young players to penetrate the collective subconscious of both fans and managers alike. That said, it takes less time today -- the Interwebs being what they are -- than it did five years ago. If 2014 were 2019, Rendon probably gets in.

2015: The He Was Hurt Year

Rendon suffered a sprained MCL in spring training and played only 18 games in the first half. Frazier was the deserving starter in his home park, where he also won the Home Run Derby. And skipper Bruce Bochy got it right by tabbing Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado as the reserves (although Justin Turner had a legit case, too).

Fun fact: Bryant entered the All-Star Game as a sub, but not at third base. Instead, he played left field, where he'd made one career start previously.

(Glenn) Close but no cigar scale: 1.0. Nothing to see here.

2016: The He Had A Meh First Half Year

Rendon was healthy this time around, but his numbers weren't. He went into the break hitting .254 with nine homers and a 103 OPS+ that wreaked of averageness. Bryant (starter), Carpenter and Arenado all deserved their nods.

Fun fact: Even though Rendon didn't make it, the Nationals sent five players to the Midsummer Classic, tied for their most ever (Bryce Harper, Murphy, Wilson Ramos, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg).

(Glenn) Close but no cigar scale: 1.0. It's not called the All-Average Game.

2017: The Daniel Murphy FanGraphs Year

Rendon finished the first half with 4.0 WAR, best among all MLB position players and significantly higher than the 2.6 WAR of Arenado, who won the fan vote. Arizona's Jake Lamb (2.3 WAR), who hit a mess of homers early in the season, was named a reserve. When the Final Vote candidates were announced, Rendon was one of three third basemen on the NL ballot, along with Bryant and Turner. The following day, when asked why Rendon should be an All-Star, Murphy said simply: "Do you go to FanGraphs?" Despite Murphy's rhetoric, Turner won the Final Vote.

Fun fact: Just because Rendon lost out, that doesn't mean the fans completely ignored FanGraphs. Among position players, Turner (3.8 WAR) ranked third at the break behind Rendon and Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager.

Bonus fun fact: Rendon, who ended up placing sixth in the MVP balloting, was one of four players who finished the season with more walks than strikeouts.

(Glenn) Close but no cigar scale: 7.0. One of the most egregious snubs in modern, data-informed All-Star history.

2018: The Timing Is Everything Year