Since everybody knows the event is nowhere near perfect, here are five-changes desperately needed to help the 2015 MLB All-Star Game.
By Robby Sabo
During the Summer months of the year we have Major League Baseball at our disposal. They are a staple of this country – the boys of Summer.
There is nothing else, no sport that gets in the way. They stand alone. It’s always been this way and will forever stay the same.
That’s why the Mid-Summer Classic has also been known to be held near and dear to so many hearts. It’s the culmination of a first-half of baseball stars coming together as one, representing two completely different leagues that make up the whole big league makeup.
Sadly though, the once glorified romance that surrounded the MLB All-Star Game has faded.
The major culprit for this feeling is directly attributed to the times we live in. Back in “the day,” fans young and old were privy to watching their local team on television. Or, in many cases, only able to watch them at the ballpark.
The All-Star Game was the only time fans could watch the best of the best. There was no DirecTV or Internet. A New Yorker couldn’t watch the great Willie Mays once the Giants took their act to the West Coast.
The All-Star Game or World Series were the only two chances to watch the extraordinary player who played in a separate league or different timezone.
Having said that, the changing of the times isn’t the only culprit in why the only real sports All-Star Game has lost a lot of its luster.
For the NFL, NHL and NBA, their versions are jokes. For MLB, considering they’re the only game in town in early July, things must be done to lift the spirit of this event.
Here are five necessary actions baseball must take to improve the MLB All-Star Game:
5. Reduce Value Of Fan Voting
For nearly three-decades the franchise that was the Kansas City Royals was as irrelevant as any team could possibly be.
Then, suddenly, the 2014 MLB Postseason happened.
Now, fans from Kansas City have made it their personal mission to vote time and again for their favorite Royal.
As a result of this madness, Alex Gordon, Alcides Escobar, Salvador Perez and Lorenzo Cain have been voted AL Starters.
Even four is too much.
Without having to go into specifics and stats on each, the real baseball fan knows exactly how wrong this is. Almost half of the starting squad are Royals. Not even baseball dynasties have experienced this.
The fan voting process makes a complete mockery of the entire game.
Leave fan voting a factor, but do not force it down everybody’s throats as a 100 percent conclusion to the starting system.
We need to get back to sensibility here and divide up the pie between fans, players, coaches and the MLB office to more equally determine the starters.
If each of those four-factions was granted a 25 percent pie of the voting process, then true all-stars would be named.
4. Take Away Home-Field Advantage
In 2002, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre took his concerns to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig about not having any more pitchers at his disposal.
Selig called the game, and thus the second-tie in MLB All-Star Game history took place.
Instead of realizing there might be a better way to attack the situation, Selig and the powers that be decided to make the game mean a little more by determining World Series home-field advantage on the pending result of each Midsummer Classic.
From 2003 on, the winner of this exhibition earns their league the right to play in the World Series with the extra-home game.
Why?
For a long time baseball has struggled with home-field advantage issues. They used to rotated from year to year between leagues which still causes issues.
Keep it simple and allow the team with the better record to have home-field advantage. It’s nonsense to have non-playoff players determining this critical advantage.
The idea provides more grief than success or strategy. Don’t pretend it’s anything other than a friendly exhibition for the fans.
3. No More Managers Selecting Reserves
Why in the world would MLB put the pressure on these guys to select the reserves?
Managers Ned Yost and Bruce Bochy are the MLB All-Star Game managers due to their team winning each Pennant in 2014. This procedure is fine. Most leagues give it to the manager who’s team is currently leading each conference at the midway mark, but last season’s success is just as worthy.
However, the immense pressure this puts on managers to select their own guys and divvy up positions and players between teams is outrageous.
Feelings get hurt, grudges are formed, and nonsense ensues.
Just as it should be with the starters, the reserves should be selected with a formula that allows viewpoints from the fans, players, coaches and offices all equally contributing.
Keep it uniform across the board.
2. Reduce Spots & Take Away Team Rep
34 spots for each league is simply outrageous.
Of course we know how we got here. During 2002 each squad was represented by 30 players. This, of course, turned out to not be enough as both teams ran out of pitchers and the game ended in a tie.
Now, however, it has ballooned to a ridiculous level.
The more spots that are handed out, the less prestigious each spot becomes. This unfortunately includes injury replacements and pitchers that will be unavailable because they pitch on the Sunday prior.
Go back to 25 roster spots and name “backup pitchers” in the case the game goes to extra-innings. These backup pitchers won’t officially be All-Stars, but having their name cemented as an “Alternate All-Star” will be an honor in itself.
These could be young phenom pitchers (in the new era of pitching) who would be excited about receiving the honor of going with the team to the All-Star Game. Veterans wouldn’t want to do it, but guys who are green would.
Furthermore, the necessity that is the team representative must go now.
This was a great idea during the times that the internet and this world of instant news didn’t exist, but now with information and videos about any player in the world at our fingertips, it simply isn’t needed.
Who want to watch Janathan Papelbon on Tuesday night? Nobody.
1. No More Inter-League Play
We finally come to the most obvious, yet controversial aspect to the MLB All-Star Game: Inter-League Play.
The reason the Midsummer Classic used to be so romanced about was because of its uniqueness. Only twice during the season did both AL and NL players find themselves on the same field at once: the World Series and All-Star Game.
The idea of two league making up a greater whole that was Major League Baseball did, indeed, work. It was a novel and beautiful thing to watch play out.
Even seeing umpires now be universally known as “MLB Umpires,” instead of each representing one league or the other turns my stomach.
We might as well change the name Major League Baseball to National Baseball League.
Now that the Houston Astros are in the American League and 15 teams reside in each league (conference), Inter-League play is officially here to stay.
This was something baseball had going for them, not a detriment.