This One Counts...But It Shouldn't

It's MLB all-star night, and I'm not as excited as might otherwise be expected. I've gotten into baseball much more this year than I have in a long time, thanks to the affordable package available from MLB.TV and joining my friend's fantasy baseball league, but there's something about this all-star game that just doesn't sit right with me. Specifically, that's the fact that for the last few years, the all-star game has decided home field advantage for the World Series. That's just a problem for me, for a couple of reasons. Out of the 32 teams that will be represented tonight, only two will make it to the World Series, meaning that home field, which is arguably more crucial in baseball than in any other championship, will very likely be decided through the actions of players with absolutely no stake in the series whatsoever, and what's more, a good number of them (like Pittsburgh's Jason Bay and Kansas City's Mark Redman) know it. And with the fans choosing the majority of the players, we're not necessarily seeing the best players at their positions--do you think A-Rod is starting at third base because he's having such a great season, or because he's got great national name recognition and a horde of fans from the largest baseball market in the country?

It's not that I don't understand why MLB tried this. The fans were all over the league after commissioner Bud Selig declared a tie in 2002 after the game appeared hopelessly deadlocked. I think the problem wasn't so much with the tie outcome as with the fact that the tie seemingly came out of nowhere. If there had been a rule previously established that a tie game would be declared a draw after, say, 11 or 12 innings for the protection of all the players' health, I don't think there would have been the outcry. No baseball fan wants to see one of their all-star caliber players get hurt in a meaningless exhibition game. I don't think any baseball fan wants to see one of their all-star caliber players get hurt trying to win World Series home field advantage for someone else, either.

My pick: AL wins big, as evidenced by their dominance in interleague play this year.