With the Midsummer Classic coming up in less than two weeks, we are all primed to see the best players in baseball face off against each other.
Beginning in 2003, the winner of the All-Star game has been awarded home-field advantage in the World Series. In the last 10 years, eight of the Wold Series winners had home-field advantage. Home-field advantage can make a huge difference, but should that difference be determined by the All-Star Game?
In most all-star games, most of the players in the game will not be in the World Series, and some of them may not even make it into the playoffs. Why should players who will not even be in the game help determine such a crucial aspect of the biggest event in baseball?
The All-Star game in baseball is the only all-star game in all the major North American sports in which the game has a direct impact on the championship of the league.
There are so many aspects to the All-Star Game by which the viewers do not even get to see the best players play. Some of the all-stars will not even be playing in the game each season due to injuries. Miguel Cabrera and Giancarlo Stanton are two that will not be playing in this years game. They are both arguably the best power hitters in the league.
Fans were able to vote 35 times, and they were able to pick one player at each position. That allows fans to choose their whole teams starting roster, 35 times. Fans of the Kansas City Royals were able to take advantage of this voting process. Fans helped vote in four of their players in the starting line-up; at one point in the voting, they had eight.
At one point, Omar Infante was leading all second basemen in votes. Infante is batting .223, with no home runs and 23 runs batted in; in other words, not all-star numbers. With fans able to have such an impact on the voting, they are having a direct impact on the World Series as well.
The All-Star Game should be a showcase of the best talent just like in other sports. But to make the game competitive, the World Series is being influenced, and it does not make sense.
The best way home-field advantage could be determined is either by best regular season record or head-to-head record; that actually makes sense. Or if this rule continues to be in place, maybe fan voting should stop, because fans having this type of influence on the All-Star Game impacts the World Series.
Here's something to think about: is making the All-Star Game competitive worth it influencing the World Series?
