Ever since LeBron signed with the Heat, I've been starving myself out of sadness, so I could certainly use some beef. Today, that beef is with the voting for the MLB All-Star Game, as well as the fact that the game decides home field advantage for the World Series.
The Midsummer Classic has been held annually since 1933, except in 1945 due to the then ongoing World War II. Up until 1947, the squad was picked by the manager of the All Star team, but since then, almost every year, fans have been able to vote for the eight starting position players. Fans were not allowed to vote however, from 1958 - 1969, after Cincinnati Reds fans stuffed the ballot boxes in 1957, electing a Red to every position with the exception of first base. Another big change in the All Star Game came in 2003, when MLB concluded that the winner of the All Star Game's representative in the World Series would get home-field advantage. The change came after the 2002 All Star Game which ended in a tie, and gave the league poor publicity.
The Midsummer Classic has been held annually since 1933, except in 1945 due to the then ongoing World War II. Up until 1947, the squad was picked by the manager of the All Star team, but since then, almost every year, fans have been able to vote for the eight starting position players. Fans were not allowed to vote however, from 1958 - 1969, after Cincinnati Reds fans stuffed the ballot boxes in 1957, electing a Red to every position with the exception of first base. Another big change in the All Star Game came in 2003, when MLB concluded that the winner of the All Star Game's representative in the World Series would get home-field advantage. The change came after the 2002 All Star Game which ended in a tie, and gave the league poor publicity.
Last night, the Classic was held in Anaheim, California, with the game's best pitchers started off the game, David Price going for the AL, and Ubaldo Jimenez going for the NL. From there it was a pitcher's duel, as neither of the stacked lineups going for both leagues, could come up with much of anything, reiterating the fact that this really is "The Year of the Pitcher."
But Kuo was a great player to use in an All-Star Game compared to the AL's use of Matt Thornton. Up 1-0, Phil Hughes came on to relieve Jon Lester to start off the 7th. After getting a ground-out from Joey Votto, Hughes struggled against his next two batters, as Scott Rolen got on with a single, and moved over to third on a Matt Holliday single. Holliday's single knocked Hughes out of the game in favor of White Sox reliever Matt Thornton, who came on and immediately got Chris Young to foul out. The next batter however, was Marlon Byrd, who after going down 0-2 in the count, ended up with a walk that loaded the bases. Enter stage right, the star of the game, Brian McCann. With two outs, McCann hit a base-clearing double that put the NL up 3-1, a lead they never relinquished.
First of all, how could Girardi put in a guy like Thornton in the seventh inning when there's men of first and third and only one out? Did he forget he had guys like Jose Valverde, Joakim Soria, Rafael Soriano and Neftali Perez left, all closers that would have been better options in such a high pressure situation?
Then there's the voting for the game itself, that also plays a factor into why the All Star Game shouldn't decide home field advantage.
When we look back on the careers of many players from years and decades past, one of the first things we see on their metaphorical baseball resumes, is the number of All-Star teams that they were selected to. If a player is an All-Star, it is assumed that they were the best, or one of the best at their position that year, and therefore in theory, the number of All Star selections a player has is a great way to decipher the great players from the good players.
But, fans voting have always made it tough to make sure that the best players make it every year. That's because for the most part, fans are more likely to vote for players from their own teams, or players whose names they've heard, even though they might not be deserving of making the All-Star Game. Before the dawn of the internet age, the rise of fantasy baseball, and the growth of ESPN, fans knew much less about players from around the league, especially those on small-market teams, and it was therefore less likely that all of the best players would get a chance to play in the Midsummer Classic.
Up until a few years ago, fans used paper ballots to enter their votes for the All Star Game, which for the most part, was able to keep from ballot box stuffing, but now with the use of the internet to vote for the players, stuffing the virtual ballot box is as simple as pie. Fans can vote up to 25 times per e-mail address you enter.
They inflate the legacies and reputations of their favorite well-known players, while players that may be more deserving of making the team are left out. People say that it's an All-Star Game not an All-Stat Game, as well as the fact that the main reason there's a game in the first place it top appease the fans. So even though guys like Kevin Youkilis and Alex Rios are having as good of years as anyone in the league stat-wise, many argue that if the fans decide they don't want to see them, then they shouldn't have to see them. But, once again, the number of All-Star appearances a player has, has a direct correlation with legacy. It's not fair to players stuck in small markets if fans vote, because then they have a tougher time getting noticed, and therefore are more likely to move to the big markets. This contributes to the lack of competition that is mostly exacerbated by the fact that the league has no salary cap, and continues to hasten the decline in popularity of baseball.
Although some fans know which players are doing the best in the league, most fans don't, and it's easily apparent from the voting that took place this year. How can you trust a fan base who selected a guy like Yadier Molina - probably just because of his fame for being one of three Molina brothers that's an MLB catcher - as the starting catcher, despite the fact that stat-wise, he isn't even among the top 20 catchers in the league, or star rookie Jason Heyward, who despite starting off strong has cooled down mightily since the start of June, with just one homer, seven RBI and a dismal .181 average, and on top of that has been on the DL since June 27. Then there's picking Justin Morneau over Miguel Cabrera. Morneau has been one of the best players in the league this year, and ended up being replaced as a starter by Cabrera when he came down with an injury anyway, but Cabrera is a Triple Crown threat and is the best player in baseball at the moment. Decisions like these show that the fans look at the names of players rather than the performances and stats of players when voting.
But, fans voting have always made it tough to make sure that the best players make it every year. That's because for the most part, fans are more likely to vote for players from their own teams, or players whose names they've heard, even though they might not be deserving of making the All-Star Game. Before the dawn of the internet age, the rise of fantasy baseball, and the growth of ESPN, fans knew much less about players from around the league, especially those on small-market teams, and it was therefore less likely that all of the best players would get a chance to play in the Midsummer Classic.
Up until a few years ago, fans used paper ballots to enter their votes for the All Star Game, which for the most part, was able to keep from ballot box stuffing, but now with the use of the internet to vote for the players, stuffing the virtual ballot box is as simple as pie. Fans can vote up to 25 times per e-mail address you enter.
They inflate the legacies and reputations of their favorite well-known players, while players that may be more deserving of making the team are left out. People say that it's an All-Star Game not an All-Stat Game, as well as the fact that the main reason there's a game in the first place it top appease the fans. So even though guys like Kevin Youkilis and Alex Rios are having as good of years as anyone in the league stat-wise, many argue that if the fans decide they don't want to see them, then they shouldn't have to see them. But, once again, the number of All-Star appearances a player has, has a direct correlation with legacy. It's not fair to players stuck in small markets if fans vote, because then they have a tougher time getting noticed, and therefore are more likely to move to the big markets. This contributes to the lack of competition that is mostly exacerbated by the fact that the league has no salary cap, and continues to hasten the decline in popularity of baseball.
Although some fans know which players are doing the best in the league, most fans don't, and it's easily apparent from the voting that took place this year. How can you trust a fan base who selected a guy like Yadier Molina - probably just because of his fame for being one of three Molina brothers that's an MLB catcher - as the starting catcher, despite the fact that stat-wise, he isn't even among the top 20 catchers in the league, or star rookie Jason Heyward, who despite starting off strong has cooled down mightily since the start of June, with just one homer, seven RBI and a dismal .181 average, and on top of that has been on the DL since June 27. Then there's picking Justin Morneau over Miguel Cabrera. Morneau has been one of the best players in the league this year, and ended up being replaced as a starter by Cabrera when he came down with an injury anyway, but Cabrera is a Triple Crown threat and is the best player in baseball at the moment. Decisions like these show that the fans look at the names of players rather than the performances and stats of players when voting.
The thing here is, it has to be one or the other; either the game is just played as an exhibition and therefore the fans can vote, or it's played for home-field advantage and therefore the managers and/or the players get to pick all of the players who play in the game. Major League Baseball can't have its cake and eat it too. My opinion is that, the MLB should adopt the NFL's rules, where the fans' votes count for a third, the players' vote counts for a third and the coaches' vote counts for a a third of the total vote. It allows the fans to have the fun that comes with voting, and make some impact on voting in the players that they want to play, but it also makes sure that the players that are in small markets that deserve to get in and start, also make the All Star Game.
Making the All Star Game, so that the winner has home-field advantage hasn't even helped increase the game's popularity; in fact there hasn't been a rating from 2003-2010 that's been higher than the 2002 MLB All Star Game, the last time the game wasn't played for home-field advantage. This year, the game saw its lowest rating ever, with 2.5 million fewer viewers than last year. Although that number may be attributed to baseball's plunge in popularity, especially with the free agent extravaganza and World Cup having both occurred this summer, it's also partly due to the fact that some fans just think the All Star Game has become a joke, a waste of time, and no game that's considered a joke, should be able to decide who gets home-field advantage in the World Series.
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