a thought on the All Star game
With the announcement of the All Star Game starting lineups for baseball every year there is plenty of opportunity for criticism and reflection. They have been tinkering with the system for a while and it’s kinda fun to watch the league’s attempts at helping the game be more enjoyable for everybody. I can’t sleep right now, so here are my thoughts.
It appears that the overall focus of the game is to be for the fan. One of the first rules of the All Star game is that fans vote on the starting lineups. This makes some people a little nervous as there is the potential for 7 Red Sox to get voted in to start, but overall the “fans” did a pretty good job picking this year. All of the AL and NL spots lead their positions in some, if not most stats, except last year’s Derby hero Josh Hamilton and reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia.
The next rule of the game is that each team gets an All Star representative. This is an interesting rule with lots of opinions on both side. This means that some undeserving players will get in instead of some more-deserving players. But it also guarantees even those die-hard fans in Pittsburgh, Oakland, and Kansas City that their favorite player will at least get a chance to pinch-run and therefore the game is worth-watching. This year that group includes Oakland’s closer Andrew Bailey, Oriole outfielder Adam (not-pacman) Jones, Reds’ closer Francisco Cordero, Cub hurler Ted Lilly, Astro SS Miguel Tejada, Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman, and Pirate Freddy Sanchez.
The newest thing is that fans get to vote for the last roster spot. This tries to rectify one snub but usually results in a dumb pick. Those “last chance candidates” are all very deserving this year, so it’s a shame 8 out of 10 of them won’t make it.
(Rant time:) The next thing is that the players (coaches too?) vote on next players and the coach completes the roster. Here’s where the arguments come. Why is Ryan Howard on the team as a 4th first baseman while Mark Reynolds (has more homers, runs, batting average, stolen bases, and is about equal in RBI as Howard) and Kung Fu Panda Pablo Sandoval are not, leaving just two third basemen on the team? Where the heck is Ian Kinsler? He’s got 20/17 HR/SB, 60/54 R/RBI (Pedroia’s sporting a 3/14 60/37). Where is Miguel Cabrera, hitting .323 with 17 home runs? And even catcher Benji Molina leads the other Molina and McCann in homers, runs, RBI and will be watching at home. What about Brewer ace Yovani Gallardo has more strikeouts, lower ERA, lower WHIP and better winning percentage than Johan Santana, and strikeout, ERA, and WHIP advantages over All Stars Chad Billingsley and Jason Marquis, too. Not to mention that he’s had a tough job replacing C.C. Sabathia, keeing the Brewers around the top of the NL Central. And Josh Hamilton’s spot keeps out Shin-Soo Choo and Jermaine Dye, who are having a great first half of the season.
One of the other changes they have made to the game recently is to make it meaningful as the winning league gets home-field advantage in the World Series. The game is more interesting to watch because it’s important. I don’t know why it was changed and a lot of people think an exhibition game for fun shouldn’t have significance but hey, AL has won 12 years in a row and Phillies still won the World Series last year without homefield advantage so I don’t think it matters much. And it definitely makes the game more intriguing.
Last rant: it’s time to change the Home Run Derby. Lots of players have fizzled out after their power display (i.e. Bobby Abreu and Josh Hamilton) and the steroid scandal has weakened the significance of the long bomb. Why not throw in some new Skill Challenges, like a race around the bases, throwing hit the targets from the outfield, outfield wall vertical leap contest, or something else of the sort? The Home Run Derby is boring. Keep it, but not every single year.
