The 2011 MLB All-Star Game is tonight and with it has come two storylines that got me thinking.
One emerges every year, right after the All-Star selections are revealed. Inevitably there's one player having a monster year and emerging as one of the bright young stars of the game, however he plays in a small market and gets overshadowed by the game's established stars on teams with a national following. Therefore this player is fated to get snubbed in the All-Star voting in favor of a player who is perhaps in the twilight of his career and isn't having nearly as good a season as the small-market player. Last year it was Joey Votto, this year it was Andrew McCutchen. The Snub is always followed by media members lamenting over what a tragedy it is that this player has been overlooked, elitist attitudes surfacing over the fans' choices.
Well guess what. The All-Star Game is FOR THE FANS. It was started in the 1930s during the Depression as a marketing ploy to get fans to become more engaged in the game (read: spend money). The concept of the fan vote came decades later, although it was developed with the same goal in mind. That being said, the fans should be able to see whoever they wish to see playing in the All-Star Game. Incidentally, the buzz created by The Snub every year can be attributed to putting that player on the radar of the casual fan, so in a way The Snub is actually better for that player and his small-market team.
Also, such bitching is unwarranted because inevitably a selected player will decline his invitation to the All-Star Game due to an injury or lack of desire and the player affected by The Snub will be invited to take his place. There's nothing wrong with the fans wanting to watch the greatest players of that generation over a guy having a big year, though with no guarantee he'll repeat that performance. If that player does, then he'll have many All-Star selections by the time his career is over; if not, then he doesn't deserve to be there anyway.
Speaking of uninjured players who decline their All-Star Game invitations, Derek Jeter has come under fire over the past couple of days for his decision to bow out of the event due to "physical and emotional exhaustion." I don't remember Curt Schilling taking the same heat for doing the same thing before the 2004 All-Star Game, saying in an interview that his obligation was to "the other 24 guys in this clubhouse." Of course his team, the Red Sox, went on to win the World Series that year, on the back of a badly injured Schilling. He needed absolutely everything he had in the tank for his "Bloody Sock" World Series performances. Yes, the fans deserve to see the players they selected play in the All-Star Game, but aren't the fans better served to watch the players on their preferred teams as healthy as possible throughout the season and especially during the playoffs, should the team be fortunate enough to make it there? Jeter has appeared in 11 All-Star games, he's more than done his part in participating in this particular event.
Also, the All-Star Game doesn't carry the same meaning it once did. It used to be the only time fans could see the best players in the game compete with and against each other regardless of American or National League status. With the advent of interleague play, fans watch the greatest players match up against each other frequently. And with free agency a part of baseball, the best players in the game are highly likely to become teammates at some point. The game is meaningless even if Bud Selig may beg to differ after mandating that the outcome of the game determine home-field advantage for the World Series, with the advantage going to the League that wins. It's hard to believe the players take that seriously.
In Sports Illustrated, different players are asked in frequent issues what one rule they would change in Major League Baseball if they were commissioner for a day. Most of them say they would get rid of that exact one. Hey, I'll still watch. And so will millions of people domestically and internationally. But it's all in fun. The fans won't be taking it seriously and the players likely won't either, so why blame Jeter for not making it the 12th All-Star appearance of his career? Especially with him recently coming off the disabled list?
Bottom line, everyone: fans, players, media pundits, and others, should just relax and have fun with the whole All-Star experience.
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