Even though the stupid All Star Home Run Derby was the night before, last night’s Major League Baseball All Star Game, which was allegedly baseball at its best, was decided by another home run derby, this one called a “swing-off.” The game’s nine innings ended in a tie, see, after an unprecedented comeback by the American League, which had trailing by six runs with just three innings to go against the National League’s best pitchers. This set up the game for a thrilling finish, like, say, Carlton Fisk hitting the ball out in the 12th inning of Game Six of the 1975 World Series, but no.
The 95th All-Star Game in Atlanta was settled by a “home run swing-off” to settle the tie. Worse still, the game’s MVP award was given to Kyle Schwarber of the National League, based on how he performed in the “swing-off” (I can’t believe I’m writing this), not in the part of the night known as “a baseball game.”
By the time Rob Manfred, the Worst Baseball Commissioner Ever Not Named Bud Selig , is through making up rules and gimmicks, baseball fields will have fun obstacles—you, know, gnome heads, water hazards and little twisty chutes?—like in miniature golf. He wants to make the game entertaining for people who are bored by baseball….you know, like him.
All of this is because the mega-millionaire players stopped wanting to actually play hard in the iconic exhibition game—might get injured, lose a big contact—and managers were pressured into not playing to win but rather treating the game like an elementary school Halloween parade, where every kid in costume gets a moment in the metaphorical sun (the games aren’t played in the daytime anymore, like they were when kids could watch their favorite players). So pitchers never pitch more than an inning, maybe two for the starters, and players all get an at-bat, but that means that if the game ends in a tie, one or both teams will have no players left. Behold! The stupid “swing-off,” which is even less baseball than the “zombie runner” gimmick used to break ties in the regular season. It had never been used before.
Abner Doubleday would be rolling in his grave if he actually invented baseball, which he didn’t. But that’s another stupid story…
They should just play 5 inning All-Star Games then—it would allow for more commercials. Decide ties by which team used the most players. Maybe settle it by a round of charades. Or, in the alternative, a supposed exhibition game that was devised to have a “dream game” that showed the best competition imaginable could actually involve playing baseball.
And talk about stupid: the “swing-off” didn’t even have the two league’s best hitters, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, who were right there, ready to swing. If there had to be a stupid gimmick, at least maximize its entertainment value. (Hey! Next time, have the players swing nude, Rob! Would you like that? Would that keep you awake?) The “explanation” for why Judge and the game’s first two way player since Babe Ruth was left out was that the “rules’ wouldn’t let them be named as one of the AL’s three “swingers.” What rules? They are making this crap up as they go along anyway! If the last AL batter in the tie-breaker had been Judge, that would have been worth watching. Nah. Makes too much sense…
Last night’s game had an odor of mendacity about it anyway. The All-Star Game was supposed to be played in Atlanta a few years before, but Manfred listened to race huckster Stacey Abram’s lament that the new Georgia election laws were “racist,” so Manfred moved the game to Denver, even though Colorado’s election rules were essentially identical. Atlanta businesses lost millions, but Rob got to signal his virtue, so I guess it was worth it.
I used to always watch the All-Star Game, and I always enjoyed it until the players stopped trying. This is the bottom of that barrel: I will not be watching this thing in the future. My sock drawer has more integrity.
Ethics Alarms 
After the infamous tie in 2002, I did not think a game could end in a dumber way. They play baseball for 9 innings and then play a different game.
Maybe they should just change the game and start awarding tie games after 9 innings.
One of the things that makes baseball unique is that there are no ties. The games could go on forever. And, they giving that up.
-Jut
Also gving up many opportunities for drama. Pete Rose flattened Ray Fosse to win a game in extra innings.
Although I agree that the All-Star game finish was gimmicky, I have to disagree about the player level of effort in the 9 innings of play.The baseball ASG is the one exhibition game where players can’t slack off. I will focus on the hitting part, but there were several great defensive plays throughout the game.But, to focus on the at-bats. One thing I realized as I watched was that, since each pitcher knew he would only pitch one inning, he was free to throw his best pitches, without preserving energy for later innings. It felt like every fastball was hitting 100+ mph and every off-speed pitch was 85+ with a wicked curve or drop.
As for the hitters, each batter only got one look at the pitcher he was facing. With the great pitchers it often takes 2 or 3 at bats for a great hitter to figure out the pitcher. In this game they didn’t have the luxury of the next at-bat. And still, even with just 3-5 pitches to adjust, they were getting hits.
Even on the infield hits, if the players weren’t playing hard they would have been excused for giving up on the play. But in this game there were at least 2 infield hits that required the runner to play hard to reach (aided a bit by the slow infield grass).
The only way I could imagine players slacking in any baseball game would be if they switches to slow-pitch softball. You can’t really slack-off and still hit an 89-102 mph pitch.
They won’t slide hard into home, third or second and risk a collision. They won’t run into a wall to catch a fly ball. Trying hard most of the game is still not “trying to win.”
Sorry, but my comment posted multiple times. I only meant to post once, I swear.
I still love baseball, but I’ve lost interest long ago in the All-Star Game [Forget the HR Derby. MLB trying to be NBA with the Dunk Contest. another snooze fest and ridiculous idea] —way too much nonsense. For instance – When I read this morning that Clayton Kershaw was mic’d up on the mound and actually talking to the broadcast booth while pitching, I just shook my head. Not sure what the obsession is with the media having to talk to players and coaches during games, let alone timeouts, between innings, etc. NO ONE is going to say anything newsworthy or of importance. “Yeah right, let me divulge strategy with you in the middle of a battle.” Dumb.
Oh, the micing of players is an abomination and should be banned.
The National Hockey League was dealing with similar issues up until this year. Its all-star games were turning into horseshit, with silly skills competitions and short games of three-on-three play that was better than nothing for rabid fans during the break, but only barely.
Let me add that hockey is a far more punishing sport than baseball. Much smaller paychecks, too.
This year, the NHL created an event called the Four-Nations Faceoff, pitting teams from four leading hockey nations in a best-on-best tournament. Canada, the US, Sweden and Finland (the Russians weren’t invited because… you know, and the Czechs were mighty cheesed because they could have fielded a competent team but the league needed even numbers. Why the NHL didn’t invite the Czechs and Germans is still something of a mystery. Perhaps they couldn’t figure out the brackets.
The result was a tournament with the best TV ratings of any series in history. Ratings wise, it far eclipsed this year’s Stanley Cup finals, which were excellent. Reason? The players, who had not had an opportunity to play for their nations in roughly a decade, were all-in. It was thrilling, smash-mouth hockey, and some of the best games I’ve ever seen.
It was not without cost. That tournament resulted in a season-ending injury to Boston star defenseman Charlie McAvoy and a near-season-ending injury to Florida’s Matt Tkachuk. But when it came to drawing people the sport, it was a winner. The players loved it – they’ll be allowed to skate in this winter’s Olympics and World Cup competition will return two years later.
And those all beat the snot out of All Star Games.
Much to my chagrin, Mrs. OB wanted to watch the All-Star Game. So, I watched it for the first time in probably twenty years. First, it was nice to see the Diamondbacks all contributing significantly both offensively and defensively. Second, much to my surprise, it was an entertaining game. My thought on the ending: they should have just left it a tie.
I have a hard time getting worked up about what MLB or Manfred do or don’t do to the All-Star Game. In soccer, the term for exhibition games is “friendlies.” Besides being a charming, proper English term, it’s terribly accurate. I think everyone’s blood pressure could be lowered if the All-Star Game were simply called “a friendly.”
OT, but did you’s guys like Le Miz heating up the 8th inning?
On the subject of integrity, did you think the hit he gave up was because the mic’d-up 1st baseman (?) was somewhat distracted while he was yakking back-n-forth with the booth?
PWS
(I did.)
“(I did.)”
Is that the answer to both questions?
PWS
Yes, both questions.
The way extra-inning games are now settled in both regular-season and All Star games is not “gimmickry”…not for one second.
It’s “ass-hatted, tom-foolerish, moronic stupidity,” and the person(s) responsible for it should be taken behind the barn and beaten with a belt as though they were ten-year-olds caught smoking cigarettes in the sandbox.
Bingo.