The All-Star game is upon us, yet I still do not feel excitement from the game.
The lineups have been announced, and the American League’s starting nine is clearly more talented the National League’s. Either way I have zero interest in watching the game, Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas will not pitch due to starting on Sunday, and catcher Yadier Molina is a staple in the All-Star Game, which is nothing new.
As a matter of fact, the All-Star game bores me. The game is in its second year of no longer counting for home field advantage in the World Series. There should be a better way to showcase the best talent in baseball without it being a one-day sham of nothingness. Even I believe the Fan Vote is a sham, I know allowing the fans to vote for their favorite players is important for fan interaction, but it should only count as a percentage on whether a player should start the game, at best.
However, ideas arise and sometimes they should be shared with the general public to gauge their interest in a given idea.
Instead of having the All-Star Game during the season, how about after the season? As well as that, instead of the game being a one game spectacle, how about a three-game series, to add a competitive element to the game?
First, the break would still exist in baseball, it was just simply be called a “midseason” break, we can have just a Home Run Derby during that break or add something cool like a Pitcher’s Home Run Derby as well or a reverse game where position players pitch and pitchers hit (voted by the fans). The team that would host the All-Star Festivities in future years would still host these events, just no game(s).
Bradley Zimmer makes at catch against the Twins in a game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico. (Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated)
The three-game series would occur the following weekend after the World Series, at a non-MLB Stadium location. Some ideas would include Mexico City, Fort Bragg, the Tokyo Dome (below), even Puerto Rico (above) among many other ballparks to promote the game in a worldly sense. As for the competitiveness for it, the winning league gets crowned, “League Champions”. The two World Series teams’ players who are elected for this game may have the option to decline the game (kind of like the NFL). Also, I would set the roster at 35 players.
Grounds crew prepare for the 2014 MLB Japan All-Star series in November 2014 at the Tokyo Dome. (Photo Credit: forum.rojadirecta.es)
Now, before you all start grabbing your pitchforks and lighting fire to wood, hear me out.
There’s pros and cons to this potential series and I’m going to try my best to rebuttal each con.
Pros:
- A best-of-three game series of the league’s best players, which increases competitiveness
- Since the game is played in November (probably), it allows us to have fewer “snubs”, since we will be able to see a player’s entire season statistics.
- A neutral site that will help promote baseball by showcasing its best talent.
- Pitchers who are elected to the roster will not be removed from the roster from “starting on Sunday”.
- Baseball in November (for a short period of time).
Cons:
- This idea breaks from traditional All-Star games.
- Everything in our lives are adapting to new ideas, why shouldn’t baseball?
- Some players will be rusty after not playing a month.
- Yes and No, the plan is to have both teams set the day before the first Wild Card Game. A “decision committee” among other factors (fan voting, player voting, etc.) will decide the rosters. Which means a player will have ample time to stay in “baseball form”.
- The game is not played at an MLB stadium, which means there will be much less fans attending the game.
- That may or may not be true, depending on the location, either way, if the MLB wants to grow its audience, showcasing our best talent will certainly help it.
- The rosters are too big.
- That is also a yes and no question. Yes, the rosters may seem large, however it allows the MLB to showcase talent across all 30 teams (yes, I still would like to see a minimum of one representative from every team).
- The World Series teams’ players will more than likely not play.
- That is uncertain, they may play the All-Star series, they may not. However, we would have a plan in place just prior to the World Series starting to have “replacement” players, should they not participate.
Some other rules would include all 35 players on each team must make at least one appearance in the series, as well as some pitching limitations (like in the World Baseball Classic).
Share your thoughts, feel free to comment and follow me on Twitter: @RobertFrey40.
(Featured photo courtesy of Sporting News.)
