Save the All-Star game

by UK American Sports Fans

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Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game has lost its lustre.  Unprecedented numbers of the games’ stars voted into the summer classic by fans (now around the globe) are dropping out.   I don’t blame them.  They get their All-Star bonuses for being voted in, not for playing.

But baseballs’ cavalcade of super star players has always had the greatest level of integrity in the All-Star games.  Football fundamentally changes the rules, and to tackle in the Pro Bowl is considered to be somewhat “unprofessional”.  Hockey experiences the same thing with no contact and no fighting (which we all secretly look forward to, do we not?  Just me then?).  Hockey and basketball both have games overshadowed by the preliminaries.  The NHL Skills Contest is cool.  The Slam Dunk Contest a desparate attempt to cling to the glories of the past in that event; as desperate as my attempts to dunk from the foul line.

But baseball still has a real game on the field, or could if it did any of the following:

  1. No home field advantage for the winning league in the World Series.  The players clearly don’t care so why should the fans?
  2. Smaller rosters.  At the moment every MLB team needs to be represented at the All-Star Game by at least one player which leads to bigger than useful rosters.  Alter the rule and let the genuine stars play.  Make an exception for the host team, which leads me to…
  3. Host team plays a team of all stars from the entire remainder of the league.  Home team can keep its rotation and bullpen intact so it’s a massive incentive.  They also have a genuine home field advantage.  Give them their three days off with creative scheduling over the weeks before and after.
  4. Radical format change.  USA vs The Rest of the World.  That’s Stale, it’s been done before.  How about players from teams with winning records at the All-Star Break against players from teams with losing records at the All-Star Break?  Now that may be exciting.
  5. Stars vs Scrubs.  Players with more than five years’ Major League experience with players with less than five.  Young versus old, rich versus poor, experience versus youth.
  6. My personal favourite – Fans versus The Pros.  Fans vote for a team of all stars, then a team of MLB insiders selects a team from the remainder of the league.  You cove the build-up with arguments of who will get in., and you have suspense over who will be picked to respond to the fans vote.  Give the insiders three days to respond.  There would be coverage of frantic calls around the league as to how rotations are stacked up, who is injured?  Then you have the game itself, and could have a fan that voted as an honoury manager.  The second-guessing.  The bragging rights.

Now that I would watch and care about.

Content courtesy of 7Saint9