One of the first things they teach you in journalism school is that when you are writing a column, have a strong opinion. Pick a side and stand by it. Make ‘em believe that your side is the side everyone should be on.
Draw a line in the proverbial in the ink-filled sand and never waver from that position.
So here I go doing the exact opposite.
There are two beliefs when it comes to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which was played earlier this week. One is that it has been ruined by multiple factors and is a total shell of its once-great self.
The other is that whatever can be done in the name of promoting the game through this exhibition game – and let’s admit, that’s all it is – is what needs to be done as the sporting landscape constantly evolves.
Put me down for both.
I get it if you long for the day when the All-Star Game “meant something,” the days when the National League and the American League were fighting it out in those non-interleague play times for perceived superiority. Appointment viewing. Great moments that you still remember decades later.
I also get it if you are simply there for the entertainment value of it. The best in the game all on once field. The Home Run Derby on Monday. The added effects that technology has brought, notably players being interviewed on the field during the game.
But what it all comes down to for me is simply this: Pete Rose and Ray Fosse don’t live here anymore.
The Old School crowd is big on pointing out how much the game meant when the NL’s Rose ran over AL catcher Fosse in the 12th inning of the 1970 All-Star Game to score the winning run.
They also love to point out all the future Hall of Famers (Willie Mays, Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, etc.) who were in the starting lineup the next year in the All-Star Game.
But do you know who else started that game in ’71? Glenn Beckert. Bobby Murcer. Bill Freehan. Not exactly Murderer’s Row.
Who’s to say there weren’t a slew of future Hall of Famers in this year’s lineup? Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Aaron Judge, Ronald Acuna, Manny Machado and Francisco Lindor certainly seem like potential candidates. The Skenes kid looks pretty salty. Nobody is saying Tarik Skubal is the second coming of Sandy Koufax … at least not yet.
So go ahead and pick at the All-Star Game if you like. But some of the arguments about the Good ‘Ol Days are wearing thin.
One of the biggest things the All-Star Game has going for it is that it’s not the NBA All-Star Game or the Pro Bowl. Both, especially the Pro Bowl, are a shell of themselves. Those are not even a reasonable facsimile of how the game is played on a daily basis and league bosses are constantly trying to find a formula that they can sell to an increasingly non-buying public.
But you didn’t see any lack of effort Tuesday night. Pitchers were bringing 100 mph heat. There was actually a stolen base! Great defensive plays were being made all over the place.
The AL fell behind 6-0 and rallied to tie it in the ninth inning. Nobody packed it in.
Ah, but here the Old School Crowd goes again as proof that this game doesn’t mean anything to anybody: the Swing Off that happened to break the 6-6 tie.
As much of a traditionalist as I like to think I am, I never thought I’d say these words but here goes – I didn’t mind the bonus baseball.
You know why? Because of the reaction of the players when their teammate was trying to hit a home run. They came out of the dugout to be a part of it and celebrate each monster shot. There was back-and-forth drama that was built until Kyle Schwarber pulled an all-timer by hitting three home runs in the three swings.
(By the way, soccer basically breaks ties in essentially the same way and nobody blinks an eye.)
Do I want to see a Swing Off after a tie game in the World Series? Of course not. But once again, this was an exhibition game, which are inherently made with the idea that there will be fun involved. Those players were having fun. So were the fans at Atlanta’s Truist Park.
The All-Star Game remains special because of how it is played. In 1970, the Rose/Fosse collision was how the game was played then. These days, the game is played in a different way.
That’s not necessarily better. It’s not necessarily worse.
Just accept it for what it is. Not what it was.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com