The Quick Fix

July 5th, 2006

It’s that time of year again when baseball fans and even your average sports junkie pull their hair out of their head over the insanity that is baseball’s all-star game process. Whether it be the “fan vote,” the fact that certain players refuse to show up because they are “injured,” or even the bright idea to let the winning league have home field in the World Series, baseball’s all-star game always seems to be the butt of many a joke. But all of the above pale in comparison to perhaps the dumbest rule in all of sports. Of course I am referring to the “their must be a player from every major league team on the all-star roster” rule. Are you kidding me? I’m sorry, but I thought we all graduated from grade school, where no child is left behind, and even Sally would have to get picked to play on the kickball team. Come to think of it, I’m actually a little surprised that baseball came up with this disgrace on its own, and didn’t need Congress to step in and create a policy called “No Royal left behind.”

But if baseball is truly serious about making sure that every team has an all-star on their roster, then let them do just that. Make sure every team has at least one all-star caliber player on their roster; the type of player who could legitimately earn a spot onto baseball’s all-star team. I mean, what does baseball expect? They have created a system where 3 or 4 teams can buy up all of the great players, and then when 4 teams dominate the all-star voting they expect the managers to make sure that the Royals and Pirates are well represented? Give me a break. Either set up a structure such as a salary cap to create competitive balance, or don’t. But don’t kid yourself into thinking that fans in Pittsburgh and Kansas City will be eagerly tuned in to the game now that they have one of their own on the roster, who by the way most likely will not sniff the field on Tuesday. Here’s a novel idea, and call me crazy, but I think that a Pirate fan, for instance, would be more likely to tune in to Pirates games if they had an actual all-star on their team. And if I were baseball I’d rather have people tune into 162 of their own team’s games than for just one night in July, where they aren’t even watching a real all-star to begin with. But then again if baseball had any intelligent leadership with good ideas to begin with then baseball would still be America’s pastime, instead of the punch line it has become.

The Quick Fix appears periodically on www.sportslizard.com.

My name is Adam Riccardi and I write a column for one of the great up and coming sports collectible sites on the web, Sportslizard.com. While I have written about more serious topics in the past, i.e. sports memorabilia and its authentication processes, I enjoy sharing my thoughts on lighter topics which center around the world of sports. Whether its ripping the commisioner or baseball, criticizing a member of the media, or adding levity to the steroid situation, I thoroughly enjoy expressing myself on the issues of sports. Im also very lucky to be associated with Sportslizard.com, which has a lot to offer to sports fans of all ages and interest levels, whether it be the autograph collector, sports figure enthusiast, and your average 20-something sports junkie. I look forward to writing more and more articles for sportslizard for many years to come.