The MLB All-Star Game doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up. Or rather its overbearing parent, Commissioner Bud Selig, has forced an identity crisis on the game. Is it an exhibition game? Not exactly, since the result determines home-field advantage in the World Series, it’s a big deal. Is it a competition based on the league’s best players? Sort of, but again no. Most of the best players make the team, but if it’s a true competition, why do fans determine the starting lineup? Why must every team have one player on the 34-man All-Star roster? The managers should be given the discretion to fill out their lineup cards however they feel gives them the best chance at winning the game.
For example, Ty Wigginton of the Baltimore Orioles was selected to his first All-Star appearance. As regular listeners and readers of WPRB Sports know, I hail from the “backwoods of Baltimore.” (I’m officially starting my campaign to change that to “backstreets of Balmer.”) As a faithful Orioles fan, I know that Ty Wigginton is not an All-Star. He does not give the American League the best chance of winning. He made the team solely because one player from the O’s has to make the team. The Orioles may have 60 losses by the All-Star break, and one of them is guaranteed to attend!?! Why? They are awful. If I was Joe Girardi, the American League Manager, and I want to win home-field advantage for the World Series, would I play Wigginton? Nope. I would take Kevin Youkilis or Mark Teixeira (both currently not on the roster) way before Ty Wigginton even crosses my mind.
The managers of the respective leagues’ teams have one job: to win the game. The game is no longer an exhibition, thanks to the commissioner’s decision to have the All-Star game decide home-field advantage. Personally, I would like to see an exhibition game with fan voting, but that’s not the case with the current version of the All-Star game. Fans vote based on who they want to see play, not on who gives them the best chance to win (mostly this works out anyway since those two overlap quite often). The only All-Star starter who got his spot ahead of a more worthy player based on popularity and hype was rookie sensation Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves. Granted Heyward will not play due to an injury, but his selection as a starting outfielder over the St. Louis’ Cardinals’ Matt Holliday would have been a disadvantage to the National League. The highly touted Heyward has fascinated fans, but Holliday is a proven All-Star, having been selected three times prior. Holliday is hitting .301 compared to Heyward’s .251 batting average. With similar power numbers, and Heyward striking out far more often (68Ks in 255Abs compared to Holliday’s 48Ks in 299Abs), Holliday gives the National League the better chance of winning.
How about Stephen Strasburg? I know, I know. The Washington Nationals rookie only has six starts. But who would you rather have in order to get 3 All-Star batters out, Strasburg or Evan Meek? (Another related question: Who is Evan Meek?) I don’t care about Meek’s 0.96 ERA or 0.851 WHIP; he made the team because he’s on the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. Are you sure you Charlie Manuel and the NL All-Stars wouldn’t feel more confident with Strasburg’s 100 mph fastball and nasty slider? If I’m facing Ichiro, Jeter and Longoria, give me Strasburg.
I’d rather see an exhibition, but if Commissioner Selig insists on making the Midsummer Classic determine the World Series, than make it a real game. If I was a Yankee or Red Sox fan or any contending AL team, I’d be upset when Evan Meek strikes out Ty Wigginton with 2 on and 2 out in the 8th inning to preserve a one-run lead. And don’t try to tell me they are two of the best 80 players in baseball. So my plea to Bud Selig (and I know he reads wprb.com all the time): Exhibition or competition? Pick one.
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