Baseball Fans Rock, But They Shouldn’t Vote...

Once again, the annual debacle known as Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is upon us. The latest incarnation of MLB’s grand exhibition game spurs two huge debates every year: 1) Should the game decide home-field advantage for the World Series? and 2) Should the fans vote for the starting position players? I think you’ll be surprised to find that The Maestro flies in the face of convention on both topics...

On the first debate, I side with (gulp) Bud Selig. Yes, it’s an ‘exhibition’ but you’re dealing with leagues that play by different rules all season long. To award home-field advantage in the World Series to the winning All-Star squad is only slightly more arbitrary than giving it to the team with the best overall win/loss percentage. Other than a few weeks of interleague play every year, the American League and the National League never cross paths. One has a DH, the other lets the pitcher hit. It’s like dealing with Japan and North Korea…geographically & ethnically similar, culturally disparate. Why not let them slug it out for one glorious night to decide who gets the edge? Ummm, the AL & the NL, I mean…let’s not start a nuclear showdown here, it’s just a blog...

As for the second argument, I have been steadfastly against the fan vote since I was old enough to realize that it was a popularity contest and not a true evaluation of the best players the sport had to offer for the current season. Sorry, but other than the pot-bellied former star QBs and saggy-boobed ex-prom queens of the world, nobody digs popularity contests. You know who wins popularity contests? Michael Vick. Who doesn’t? Bill Gates. Who would you argue is a better, more productive person? Thought so...

The same logic should apply to the All-Star vote. Fans pick the old standbys and the ‘cool’ names, not the emerging stars who actually deserve the roster spots. Would Raul Ibanez (with the same numbers) have been voted in as a starter this year if he were still in Seattle instead of in Philly? Not hardly. Would David Wright stand a chance in Hades if he (again, with the same numbers) played in Kansas City instead of the Big Apple? Nope.

In the end, the vote should be 33% players, 33% coaches, 34% media. The people who know, watch, and live the game every single day should decide the best of the best, not internet geeks and face-painters...

I, for one, have grown to despise All-Star games (or races, for that matter). If it’s billed as an exhibition, that means I can watch a movie or play a video game instead. I’m actually a bit disgusted by fans and sports reporters who act like joyful, giddy children as they watch and praise games where defense isn’t a factor, critical errors can be laughed off as harmless larks, and protecting players from injury becomes an unwieldy concern. The essence of sport is the competition for a championship, an ultimate goal; on the professional level, it’s not supposed to be a giddy free-for-all where there are no winners or losers. Let’s leave the PC crap for the ACLU and the attorneys...let’s make sure our games – all of them – continue to matter, shall we?