The Major League Baseball All-Star Game dwarfs its NBA and NFL counterparts in popularity, but the commissioner’s office needs to continue looking for areas to improve the game.
Bud Selig and the baseball owners have been slow to make changes in game speed and instant replay, which has turned some of mainstream America away from the sport and encouraged negative publicity.
But the All-Star game remains their biggest event outside of the playoffs, and with a few tweaks, they can make it even better.
Here are some suggestions (demands):
Scrap the Home Run Derby
The annual Home Run Derby is the bane of the All-Star celebration. The contest glorifies the facet of the sport that led to steroids and muscle-heads swinging for the fences with a runner on second and nobody out. Just move him over. And just get rid of this nonsense.
And it’s not like they would lose entertainment – the eight participants in the nearly three-hour competition do more standing around than swinging and take more pitches than they hit over the wall.
MLB needs some event for the Monday before the All-Star Game, so the problem with deleting the showcase is replacing it, which leads me to my next idea.
Replace “Game” with “Series”
Excluding the random two and four game series that are sprinkled throughout the MLB regular season, all games are played in sets of three. Why shouldn’t the All-Star Game follow suit?
The change would come with one stipulation: the players voted in by the fans must play the first six innings of Game 1.
There’s a reason they were chosen, and the fans who spent all their time filling out 50 online ballots per day deserve to see their hard work pay off.
The reserves and managerial selections would also have the opportunity to showcase their talents in an increased role in Games 2 and 3. The roster size has bloated to 34 players for each team, so there are more than enough position players to give everybody at least one day off. And it’s not a stretch to add a couple more pitching slots to ensure each team has enough arms.
One of the reasons the game is so relaxed is because it is only one game. If the AL wins Game 1, wouldn’t the NL come out for Game 2 energized to prevent a series loss?
MLB already has the best All-Star game, as neither the NBA or NFL players play any semblance of defense, but that doesn’t mean they should stand pat. An All-Star series would garner more publicity for the stars and cement the MLB showcase as the best of the big-three sports.
Change the Prize
It’s easy to blast Commissioner Bud Selig for his attempt to make the All-Star Game “mean something” by granting the winning league home-field advantage in the World Series. It’s embarrassing for a sport to base a World Series Game 7 on the result of an exhibition game.
But Selig’s critics often don’t bring anything to the table. If they were to take home-field advantage away from the winner, they would have to replace it with something worthwhile. My suggestion: an offseason trip, as a team, to visit the troops overseas. This would – once again – bring positive publicity and offer a new perspective to the young millionaires.
Banish Charlie Manuel
As an Atlanta Braves fan, I’m happy Omar Infante made the All-Star team. I’ve seen him come through in the clutch and play several positions – LF, RF, SS and 3B – but part-time players should not be All- Stars.
His versatility in the field is overshadowed by a new rule, which allows the manager to re-insert one position player into the game.
It makes the utility role obsolete.
In place of Infante, Manuel could have included Colorado CF/LF Carlos Gonzalez, who is hitting .314 with 17 HR, 60 RBI and 12 SB.
But this decision doesn’t even scratch the surface of NL manager Charlie Manuel’s errors, considering he not only left
Joey Votto – the first-half NL MVP – off the roster, but won’t even start him in the DH slot after the fans voted him onto the team.
Whether Manuel wins the next 15 World Series or retires in two years without winning another NL pennant, please keep him away from the All-Star Game.