Just like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, as another all-star game approaches – this time, yesterday’s MLB All-Star Game from San Francisco – out come all the sports-page pen jockeys with suggestions on how to improve the All-Star game.
Including me. This isn’t to jump on the bandwagon of those who say baseball’s all-star showcase is lacking the intensity and fervor of games in the past (even though, as Fox always reminds us, “This one counts”), because let’s face it: Every all-star game has its drawbacks.
The Midsummer Classic has no fire or passion; nobody plays defense in the NBA or NHL all-star games; nobody even cares about the Pro Bowl. And, save the Pro Bowl (which really is just a free Hawaiian vacation for many involved in the NFL), skills competitions of one sort or another overshadow the actual game.
So what can be done? Accept this fate, take the games for what they are, and stop acting so seriously? Nah, sports fans aren’t wired like that. Clearly this calls for broad, sweeping changes to be thought up, and for that, we must look to the past.
The problem is that, in baseball, basketball and (to a lesser extent) hockey, a skills competition overshadows the game. The home-run derby draws bigger than last night’s all-star game, and the slam dunk contest elicits more reaction than its all-star game too – I still think Dwight Howard was robbed, but I don’t remember who was the MVP from the game in Las Vegas. And as of late, Chris Berman’s “BACK BACK BACK” has been remembered more than anything that’s happened in the real game, which is a shame.
How can the importance shift back to the actual games? By simplifying.
Focusing on baseball for a second, the actual game isn’t that bad. It’s actually probably the best out of the three that matter because the scores don’t inflate into the stratosphere. With the NHL and NBA all-star matches, nobody plays defense – for a four-year period in the early ’90s, the NHL game was won by a team scoring 10 goals or more, and in the NBA’s version each team routinely closes in on 120 points. There was even a threat of 200 points by a team this past year because Phoenix’s Mike D’Antoni was at the helm of the Western Conference All-Stars.
This is not how the sport should be played; both the NBA and NHL all-star games look like they’re being presented by EA Sports. However, given the up-and-down active nature of both basketball and hockey, and the lack of team cohesion always present in an all-star game, they might not be able to turn the game into a textbook performance anytime soon.
However, the Midsummer Classic is different. While none of these games are true “games” in that they rotate players through to get everyone some innings, baseball at least has a tradition of having a true hard-nosed, blood-rivalry all-star game that I for one would love to see return. But how could that happen again?
First, drop the World Series home-field advantage nonsense if the game stays an exhibition. Second, and crucially, reduce the number of interleague games played in order to rebuild that division between the AL and NL and truly bring back the passion.
Part of the All-Star Game’s prior glory was that these guys wanted to prove their league was best. Unlike in the NBA, where familiarity bred contempt in the ’80s, that the AL and NL only played twice a year – once in July, once in October – made it something special. Baseball has traditionally had a very firm divide between the two leagues, which has now turned into a gray area with interleague play.
Interleague only serves a few real rivalries – those in New York, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Chicago – and the sports media only focuses on the Subway series. While that’s always a fun distraction, my Mariners are busy playing our given NL West team, the San Diego Padres, or are welcoming such baseball luminaries as the Cincinnati Reds or the Pittsburgh Pirates to Safeco Field.
Can you tell how excited I am? Because I’m not.
One or two series a year (one home, one away) against NL West opponents is novel for this Mariners fan; having to play the NL Central or NL East just because they come up in the rotation is a special shade of boring. Worse, it takes away from the permanent AL-NL rivalry that all of baseball – including its championship playoff series – is based on.
Bud Selig needs to get off the fence: either open the league up to a balanced schedule (like the NBA) and re-juggle all the division lines (which is never happening), or close interleague back up to only a few series per year and bring the passion back to the AL-NL rivalry.
It would improve more than just the All-Star Game.