Mythbusters: Fans Love the All-Star Game

Ok, I made that one up. I don't think that fans like the All-Star Game at all anymore - and if you do, I'm about to change your mind. The current All-Star Game is a shadow of its former self and it frustrates me. The issues I have with the All-Star Game are all connected: fan voting, representing each team, deciding home field advantage in the World Series, using the DH in all future ASGs, and Hall of Fame implications.

Let's jump right in - if you want to have the fans voting for a starting line up, that is fine. However, the game then has to be an exhibition. How are you going to tell me that the ASG determines home field advantage in the World Series.... but we're not going to field our best team to try and win (also, the idea of this game deciding home field is absurd in and of itself - there is no earthly reason why home field shouldn't go to the team with the best record, other than that Bud Selig is a moron). This ties into the fact that each team needs to be represented by at least one player. The people who made this rule are the same ones who don't think we should keep score in Little League because God forbid there are losers! Why should someone who is deserving of an All-Star selection be left off the roster because (for example) the Pirates don't have a representative yet? It's ridiculous. I think the selection that angered me the most in the past few years was Kosuke Fukodome - although a friend of mine has a theory that drunk Chicago frat boys overtook that vote just because of his name. Fukodome had no business being anywhere near the All-Star Game that year - but with the fans given free reign, anything can happen.

This ties in nicely with the fact that ASG selections carry far too much weight in Hall of Fame voting. If you're going to point to the number of games a player was selected to appear in, then there needs to be an actual process to make the selections. I think the Hall of Fame is already becoming watered down - for example, there should be no such thing as a "borderline" Hall of Famer. If you want the selections to mean something and lend weight to an argument about a player's Hall of Fame credentials, then stop it with the fan vote and team representation. Again, MLB wants to have the game be an exhibition while simultaneously being important to not only the playoffs but individual players' careers. Sounds like a classic "have your cake and eat it too" scenario to me.

Now, onto my newest ASG annoyance: the decision to use a DH in all future games, even ones that take place in National League parks. First of all, if you don't think that this is a sign of things to come for the NL, you're not paying attention (remember, chicks and Bud Selig dig the long ball). Major League Baseball has this ridiculous obsession with the need to keep aging former stars hanging around the game through the DH position. The fact that baseball keeps trying to force this rule down the NL's throat bothers me. I'll admit to a bias here because I follow NL baseball and I love the strategy behind double switches. But I think the fact that the leagues are different is a good thing, and I like watching my pitchers help themselves out with sacrifices or hits.

At this point, the reason I watch the All-Star Game is because it's really the only time I get to see players from the American League (because you all know I don't watch Yankees games). But I can't take it seriously, because it's become a joke. I think that's sad because an All-Star selection should be something to take pride in - for the players, but also for the fans of those players. Instead, all I can think about are the idiots in Chicago mass-voting for Fukodome.