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Should home-field advantage still be at stake in baseball's All-Star Game?
Pro: Changing it so soon sends a bad message to fans
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More from SportsFifteen innings later, the system works.
That, truly, was the primary lesson delivered by last Tuesday's major league All-Star Game.
Naysayers will carp about the lengthy proceedings, about the risk of injuries, about the restrictive rules that hogtie managers.
In the end, what really transpired was a game that matters.
The American League All-Stars mustered a 4-3 victory in 15 innings over their NL counterparts. It was a game of key plays and big hits and, yes, more than its share of suspense.
Here's the bottom line: The sport and the fans deserve as much.
Unlike the NFL, whose Pro Bowl amounts to a paid vacation for its players, or the NBA All-Star Game, where, conveniently, the players forget to pack any defense with their luggage, baseball's All-Star Game amounts to a real game.
The reason, of course, is that the outcome serves up real stakes.
To the victor goes important spoils: The winning league earns the all-important home-field advantage in the World Series.
The upshot is a refreshing shift for All-Star games. Strategy counts, players and managers actually care. Imagine that?
The All-Star Game makeover goes back six seasons.
The not-so-memorable 2002 All-Star Game went 11 innings and ended in a 7-7 tie when neither team had enough pitchers to continue.
The next year, baseball's powers that be ordered a drastic rule change: From that point on, the winning league will procure the home-field edge in the Fall Classic.
Critics say the move smacked of "gimmick." Fox TV now had a reason to sell the game to the masses.
But, really, so what?
Major League Baseball has forever touted its system that allows fans to choose the starting lineup for All-Star play. This is one sport that gives its fans a real say-so in a relevant matter.
The extra-special bonus being that the game actually could influence its eventual champion.
To change the system again would amount to an insult to the fans. This time, leaving it alone is the best course of action.
— Loren Ledin is a staff writer for The Star. His e-mail address is lledin@VenturaCountyStar.com.
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