The All-Star Game:
What's Good About MLB

Michael Cox

It's been fairly smooth sailing for the Good Ship MLB this season, yet there are still issues with the grand game, even if some only lurk in the periphery: Interleague play brings up the thorny issues of potential realignment and what to do with the DH. The big-budget failure of the Orioles reminds us just how much money they had to waste while Montreal and Oakland tighten the belt another notch. The imminent coronation of Bud Selig as commissioner reminds us that the monkeys are still running the zoo. Finally, lurking in the shadows of the J.D. Drew affair was the always-unwelcome specter of labor strife.

Add to these last year's "purchased" Florida World Series trophy and the percieved (not real, percieved) explosion of beanballs and brawls, and it's understandable how one could be a tad on the cynical side.

Fortunately, there's one thing in MLB that works exactly as it should: The All-Star Game.

On Monday and Tuesday at Coors Field, baseball's best and brightest will be on hand to celebrate the game, and MLB has slowly been growing the events around the game over the years. The Home Run Derby this year may attract almost as much attention as the ASG itself, with the already-anointed King of Homers, Mark McGwire, in attendance.

Now, if you've been reading us faithfully during the season, you know that I think it's a little early to get all wound up about Roger Maris, but Mac is perfect for the Derby. Add some guys like Juan Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa and you have a little bit of excitement. Others have wondered why the Derby isn't done like the NBA slam-dunk contest: Only players not on the ASG rosters playing. Short answer: Have you watched the slam-dunk contest lately?

I didn't think so.

Sure, it'd be great to get all the one-dimensional sluggers away from the big game itself, but the problem with that is that the fans keep voting for most of them.

And oh, that voting. It's the saving grace of the whole kit and kaboodle. You read it right - under no circumstances should the starting lineup ever be selected by anyone other than the fans. Sure, it means that Cal Ripken, Jr. wins the 3B slot almost by acclamation despite an almost beyond-the-pale season, but if the fans want him there, hey, they pay the goddamn bills, okay? Peter Angelos will persuade Cal to retire and meet his Hall of Fame destiny soon enough, and we can still look forward to seeing Mike Piazza elected to Game after Game long after his knees have called it quits without consulting the rest of his body.

The All-Star Game is at its best when it features players who have made headlines (c'mon now - you know I don't mean Raul Mondesi). You've got your unlikely perfect gamer, David Wells, all the Maris chasers, Mike Piazza, who may not remember which uni to wear, and Minnesota's Brad Radke, who went from a TV commercial joke to a damn fine pitcher. All that's missing, and this is probably the most perplexing omission, is Cub rookie sensation Kerry Wood. Granted, you have to fit every team on the roster (another great thing about The Game, BTW), but Jim Leyland could have left out one of the 3/5ths of the Padre rotation that is heading to Denver.

But it's a minor quibble, because most of the players we (and when I say "we", of course I mean me) would like to see will be there. Griffey will be anchoring the AL outfield, Maddux and Martinez will be matching Cy Young arms, McG will be swinging for the fences, and Paul O'Neill will be wowing the crowd with his post-strikeout Gatorade container-bashing.

And best of all, Albert Belle sucked hard enough this year to not earn an invite. The last vestige of truly crappy attitude thus purged, the All-Star Game puts Major League Baseball in the best possible light, if only for a day or two.

Michael Cox will probably never have children, so he is currently attempting to teach his cat to play shortstop. Assess its chances of big league earning potential at mc@strikethree.com.