The All-Star game was a good example of the bad turns that baseball has taken: all the runs but one were scored on home runs and there were twenty-five strikeouts. Everyone seemed to treat the game like a joke, including the announcers Jack Buck and John Smolz, who said endlessly that everyone was "a five-tool player who is destined for the Hall of Fame," as Fox miked the players and even talked to them in the field while the game was going on. For some reason all the players were allowed to take pictures of each other, also during the game. I was not particularly in favor of the rule --abandoned last year --that the winning league was given the home field advantage in the World Series but discarding that rule made the game more anarchic and meaningless than ever. The only difference between this game and my softball games is that there is no beer at third base to reward the players who get that far (and how did MLB miss out on that opportunity to get a beer company's money?)! The game was little more than an extension of the odious home run derby.
Remember not long ago when pitchers in All-Star games routinely pitched three innings? On Tuesday only Max Scherzer pitched two innings. If the game means nothing don't let your pitchers wear themselves out, they've already had one or more Tommy John operations. See my previous posts for my suggestions about how to improve the game, including legalizing the spitball and bringing back stolen bases and bunts. Some baseball officials think attendance is dropping because there is so little activity on the bases; do "fans" want to see just strikeouts and home runs?
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