The 89th All-Star Game of Major League Baseball is just around the corner (at night on Wednesday, from 2am on LIVESTREAM FOR FREE on SPOX) and as relevant as ever. It may no longer count for the playoffs, but it’s still the talk of the town. SPOX looks ahead to the Midsummer Classic and explains the fascination of this special selection game.
“And this time it counts” was the Tag Line of the Midsummer Classics for the last time two years ago. The winner of the All-Star Game between the National and the American League had given his league home rights in the World Series. Since 2017, the game has been “just” a friendly match again. But has this return to the beginnings damaged the significance of the event?
Not at all! On Monday the MLB invited to a press conference at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The topic: the presentation of the Starting Lineups and the Starting Pitcher. Chris Sale, the starter for the American League, was as happy as a snow king. And this, although it is already his third start in the Midsummer Classic series. Nobody’s done that since Lefty Gomez in prehistoric times.
On the other hand, there is also a repeat offender: Max Scherzer will start as last year for the NL. And this, although his figures are perhaps somewhat worse overall than those of Jacob deGrom of the Mets. But “it’s his city,” noted manager Dave Roberts to the Washington Nationals’ Ace. DeGrom will be the first relief to receive the ball. On the AL side this will be Luis Severino (Yankees), who could have started in the same way.
The mere fact that this is a source of discussion among managers, fans and media representatives is a clear indication of the importance of this event.
But it becomes even clearer when you look at the situation around Manny Machado. The shortstop of the American League in the service of the Baltimore Orioles will almost certainly be in the O’s jersey for the last time on Tuesday evening. The rumor mill is boiling: His club, which is not competitive this season, is very close to reaching an agreement on a trade for the superstar.
Where is the journey going? Not interesting for the moment. However, the fact that a potential trade has not yet taken place speaks volumes. We’re talking about a player who was taken out of play the weekend after four innings because the infield was slippery after heavy rain. After a long rain break the O’s didn’t want to take any risks. Your most valuable asset should never hurt itself.
Of course there is a certain risk of injury in the All-Star Game – just like in any other game. But this is about optics. Each team has at least one representative at Midsummer Classic. The O’s have only Machado with them this year. A trade before the All-Star game would have destroyed this. And who wants to be the only organization without a player in the All-Star Game?
Certainly not the Orioles, which are considered to be their own anyway. A different lead from Patriarch Peter Angelos’ might have been traded by Machado before the season to maximize the return for his star player – it was clear even then that he would not renew in Charm City in the summer and sign elsewhere instead. But now only the trade deadline remains, if one wants serious compensation for this departure.
His possibly last all-star game in the Nationals jersey could be played by Bryce Harper. The local hero and newly crowned home run derby champion does not run the risk of being traded, but his contract also expires. However, his contract year has so far been rather mixed. He beats just over.200, but already has 25 home runs and leads the NL in Walks.
The result: Harper hits “only” on position 6 in the batting order in his home game and will probably not hit the record in the first inning. It was precisely this personality that made faces questionable.
Harper himself was self-critical: “Should I beat .300 or at least .280? Yes, absolutely! But I’m no better right now. Hopefully things will only go uphill from here.”
A common argument was that the Nationals fans in the stadium naturally want to see their superstar early. But purely in terms of performance, others are more entitled to the upper places in the order of driving. It’s just a friendly match, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t taken seriously by everyone.
That’s what makes the MLB All-Star Game special compared to the iterations of the other US leagues. In NBA and NFL, for example, defenses have been abandoned for years and in some cases even played with modified rules. In the NHL you don’t play a real game anymore and instead play a mini tournament, which is worth seeing.
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It should also be borne in mind that no player is willing to participate in the game. In the NFL Pro Bowl, for example, it is amazing every year how many players – including many big names – cancel as quickly as possible. In baseball, on the other hand, a Trevor Bauer, the Indians’ star pitcher, announced that he was determined to pitch on Tuesday. And this, although he had started on Sunday and would have had a free ticket.
The all-star game of Major League Baseball may no longer count when it comes to who can play the decisive seventh game of the World Series in front of the home crowd if the worst comes to the worst. But it counts in the minds of the players, responsible persons, fans and even the team owner. For this reason alone, it will still be worth watching this top event in 2018.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.