MLB All Star Event Exposes More Flaws

This weeks "Mid Summer Classic" revealed many of the flaws the game has today. Not only is fan favoritism putting the validity of a game "that counts" in question, but MLB itself it stays living 50 years ago. Promoting its past instead of living in the current or promoting its future.

For baseball purists this might be a great event. But to me, it was a bore. Here I am at home enjoying a rerun episode of the Family Guy when it dawns on me..."Oh shit the All Star Game is on." At this point it is 8:40 pm & I think, "Damn, I missed the first inning." Oh how wrong I was my friends. In fact, I tuned in on time to watch Stan Musial being driven in a Golf like cart, to hand the game ball over to President Obama. I just could not believe that it was 40+ minutes of pomp & circumstances. Of course this should be no surprise, baseball does this every year, so shame on me. 10 minutes later Tim Lincecum was actually on the mound & threw his first pitch, at approximately 8:50 pm. 50 full minutes after the advertised start. Since I cursed already I'll do it again, WHAT THE FUCK FOX & MLB? A 50 minute dog & pony show? That's the plan to keep viewers interested?

This all goes back to the central issue with MLB. Forget steroids, team salary disparity, & competitive balance. The prevelant issue is still promoting the past legends, while failing to promote the current & future stars of the game (as I so elequently covered here). Time for baseball to wake up. Stop trying to sell the game to an audience (baseball purists), that you already OWN. Start promoting the young talented players you have in the game today & the ones you will have in the future. Case in point, the All Star Futures game was held on a Sunday (July 12) at 2 PM. It was running against many Sunday afternoon Major League games, giving it ZERO visibility. How many of you even knew it was on? Instead of making it a notable part of the All Star festivities, MLB puts it on witness protection. Don't hide it in the midst of 4 Sunday afternoon baseball games, play the All Star Futures game on Tuesday night, have the MLB All Star Game on Wednesday night, that way the Futures game can have the spotlight to itself.

In order to attract fans, you can't bore them by talking about how great a player was 50-60 years ago. Try giving fans a look into who will be in the All Star game in the future. I am fully aware of Stan "the man" Musial & what he meant to the St Louis Cardinals & I appreciate his mark on the game. But the only ones who care, are baseball purists & YOU ALREADY HAVE THEM. Baseball spends so much time promoting its past, that I'm willing to wager more people are familiar with the name Roger Maris, then someone like say Hanley Ramirez. See for yourself, take a survey & I'm willing to bet at least 50% of random people think Maris is in the Hall of Fame, when he actually isn't. I'm not saying don't have a ceremony at all. Just have it from 7 pm to 8 pm & start the game before darkness hits the majority of the nation. Don't tell me 8 pm & start at 9 pm. These 9 o'clock starts is another thing absolutely killing MLB, in the younger demographic.

Now on to fan voting. This is supposed to be an event where the best of the best showcase themselves. Instead, it's where any Tom, Dick, & Harry can start in an All Star game. Case in point, Dustin Pedroia. 2 days before online voting closed Ian Kinsler had about a 7,000 vote lead. When voting finally did close, the reigning AL MVP won by about 73,000 voted. That's 80,000 votes for a second basemen who at the time was batting .289, had a slugging percentage of .382 & 2 HR. Here is a direct quote from a Red Sox fan (who will remain nameless) as to why Dustin was sooooooo worthy of starting second base for the AL. "Started out hot took a month off and got red hot and stayed that way." So there you have it. Apparently that's all you need in Beantown to become an "All Star." Laughable right? The truth is Pedroia's batting average (.303) wouldn't be where it is if not for a 15-29 streak he went on recently. There are at least 3 second basemen that I can make a case for, more worthy than Pedroia, as the starter for the AL. So it is undeniable that this was ballot stuffing at it's finest by the habitants of the Red Sox Nation. I'd prefer to hear, "he's a Red Sox, so I voted for him" instead of this jibberish. Thankfully, Karma made it right & Pedroia had to miss the All Star Game for personal reasons. I don't know about you, but when I hear All Star Starter, I think of the most talented player in that position or National Star Power. Not a guy that starts off hot & then takes a month off.

Lets not forget that some players have bonuses tied to All Star game appearances. I don't think players like Pablo Sandoval (who has a higher batting average than Albert Pujols) should be denied those all star appearances by the fans idiotic voting. It speaks volume of how irrelevant the term "All Star" has become. Instead of a gala of talent, its becoming nothing more than a puppet show for fans wanting the title All Star attached to a player of mediocre talent.