tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

All-Star Game Is Tonight: Who Cares

There was a time when the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was something special. That is why it was called the Midsummer Classic. Seeing Roberto Clemente face Jim Palmer or Mickey Mantle step in against Bob Gibson was special because unless their teams were in the World Series, you would never see these match-ups. Of course, with interleague play, its quite possible you would have seen Derek Jeter face R.A.Dickey or Joey Votto step in against Justin Verlander this year. So much for being special.

I have not watched all of the All-Star Game for years. To me it means nothing anymore. There was a time when there was a ton of pride playing for your league. Why do you think Pete Rose slams in to Ray Fosse at a play at the plate?? (Fosse was never the same after that collision). Could you see that happening tonight??

With free agency, you could be in the NL tonight and in the AL next season. Case in point: Prince Fielder. You didn't see that before as players stayed with the same team their entire career. There was pride in your league and you wanted to win the game just for that reason.

Of course, Bud Selig has tried to give the players soemthing to play for (and a reason for fans to watch) by giving the league that wins the game home-field advantage in the World Series. What a joke. In a sport with the longest schedule, excellence throughout a 162 game season means nothing. The other sports give the advantage to the team with the best record, with the exception being the Super Bowl which is played on a neutral site. Even the alternating year home-field advantage for the World Series was better that the current farce that Selig has created.

As you can tell, I won't be watching much if any of tonight's game. It really doesn't excite me and the whole home-field gimmick pisses me off. The Midsummer Classic is no more. It's just another exhibition game that has fallen into the same category as the Pro Bowl, NHL & NBA All-Star games. Too Bad.
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By the way, the fans in Kansas City are morons for booing Robbie Cano and cheering every time he didn't hit a home run. Once again, Selig screws things up. Have each league pick who will be in the Home Run Derby.