Comments on: How To Fix Baseball’s All-Star Mess

By: MJenks

MJenks — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:39:07 +0000

Really? This game is for the fans? You honestly think that?

The only reason these players show up at the game is so they can exercise that “if I get elected to the all-star team, I get X amount of dollars out of it” clause that was written into their contracts. Otherwise, these guys would be taking a three-day break while a bunch of scrubs played the game.

Fan voting is a joke. I like the notion that you get voted by your peers and those with some form of baseball acumen (managers, coaches).

I’m also not a fan of the home run derby idea to finish it. I say we nominate celebrity ball girls to mudwrestle each other for three rounds if the game ends in a tie after the nine innings.

By: Pablo

Pablo — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:22:19 +0000

Wow, I’m surprised by the backlash on removing fan voting. Everyone says that you need it to keep the fans interest. Seriously? If there isn’t fan voting, no one will watch? That sounds pretty ridiculous to me. I really don’t see the ratings drop much without fan voting – people watch the ASG to see the best players play, not to see people they voted for.

Ideas 1 and 3 are pretty obvious and hard to disagree with. As for 4, I agree that we need some sort of shoot-out style ending. I think the Mini HR derby would be fun, but I can understand why people would hate it. But still, you gotta have something to keep the game from dragging on.

By: BakersPapi

BakersPapi — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:51:34 +0000

Heath Bell on the hook for the L. Figures… Padres traysh

By: Keller

Keller — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:25:23 +0000

Let the fans vote, but just don’t count it. They will never know.

The players are all wimps today. You would have never saw Pete Rose pull out of the game because of “injury”. Hell no, he (and all other players from that era) was there to WIN. Check out Rose’s home plate collision in 1970. Most players today wouldn’t do that in a regular season game…

There is no pride anymore that “your league” won, because players bounce around from league to league and team to team like rubber bands…

Make a single MLB all-star team and then go play Japan or Mexico or PR or DR….

By: will

will — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:00:41 +0000

Why not have the ASG determine DH rules for interleague play. If the AL wins then all interleague games are DH rules. If the NL wins then all interleague games force the SP to bat.

By: Phillips

Phillips — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:36:50 +0000

I’m very welcome to all of these suggestions. The home run derby finish was just my idea for a sort of “baseball shootout” that could be fun for the fans and a way to make it so the game doesn’t end in a tie.

They could also keep the fan voting, but they should do it like the NFL does, where the fan voting is equal to the voting of the players and coaches. That would prevent big market fanbases from stacking teams with their own players.

By: Bealzer

Bealzer — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:27:49 +0000

Want to make it more interesting? Reduce head count to 25. Give every player on the winning team a $1 million bonus. Losers get squat. Pay for the bonuses by placing a levy on every team or charge $1 for each fan vote. Institute player balloting as you suggest and weave those results together with the fan balloting. Game would need to continue like regular game — no HRD tie-breaker.

By: Karl

Karl — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:58:14 +0000

I agree with the essence of your article, that the All-Star game is fast becoming irrelevant and needs retooling, but I think 2 of your suggestions are kind of half-baked. Agree with you on not making it count, I think its a desperate bid to add drama to the game. Fan involvement is not something you can just remove without significant backlash because what you’re doing there is alienating the people who care the most about the game. Go back to the drawing board on that one. Same thing w/home run derby. I get where you were going with it, sort of a ‘sudden death’ situation to prevent a repeat of last year’s debacle, but HRD is on the night before, so that shit’s tired, and it really kills the momentum.

Just my 2 cents!

By: Grant

Grant — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:54:22 +0000

There are no All-Star games where the fans decide the roster. They become All-Popular contests. If you want true All-Stars, then #2 would be the best way to get it done.

By: Rife Madson

Rife Madson — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:08:26 +0000

Very stupid column. The only thing I agree with is that the team with the best regular season record should get home field.

Get rid on interleague play, and all of a sudden the novelty of the game is back.