Love and Hate: All-Star Game edition

I love the All-Star Game. I really do. I think it all goes back to when I was a kid and for some reason, there was something magical about the moment when they announce the rosters out on the field. Seeing each player get a chance to tip his team’s cap and be recognized is special.

But , of course, I hate that the All-Star Game decides home-field advantage in the World Series. I remember watching Benito Santiago strike out and feeling remarkably strange that any baseball game could end in a tie, let alone the Midsummer Classic. But I don’t think any of us saw this stipulation coming and to paraphrase Mel Gibson’s version of William Wallace, if I could go back, relive all the days from that day to this one and make all the All-Star Games ties instead of having them decide home-field advantage, I would.

I love debating “snubs” but I hate the term “snub” it’s an ugly word with ugly implications and there should be a rule that every time you make a case for someone who should be in the game, you better say who you want to be taken out.

I hate fan voting. The process needs to be streamlined and unlimited fan voting just allows stuffing the ballot box from fanbases that are more plugged into the daily grind of baseball at any given moment. One of the things that has always been great about baseball and it’s unique All-Star contest is that it can often be a showcase for lesser-known players. Every team gets a representative and players who aren’t celebrated on national TV every day finally get their shot. I wouldn’t expect fans of other teams to be up-to-date on DJ LeMahieu (for example) but he is exactly the kind of player who should be showcased at this game.

Instead, as the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs have proved the last two years, plenty of deserving and less-known players will miss out on a fair opportunity to be recognized in favor of showcasing an entire team whose fans are just elated to finally be relevant again.

I love All-Star Game antics. They can be harder to come by these days as the game becomes more and more just a contest between two teams likely to meet in the World Series, but still Barry Bonds picking up Torii Hunter after getting robbed and Larry Walker turning his helmet around after Randy Johnson threw a pitch behind his head are wonderful glimpses inside the real world these guys live in. Baseball is a quirky game with quirky characters, they should be encouraged to show that off.

I hate it when the All-Star Game is lost by the clearly superior league because of three terrible errors by one player. I’m looking at you, Dan Uggla. #NeverForget

I love Ichiro Suzuki’s pre-game rallying speeches and think he should get to be an honorary All-Star forever just so he can show up once a year and deliver them as needed.

I hate that Pete Rose pummeling another human being in an exhibition game is often cited as evidence of something positive about his character while Jose Bautista admiring a playoff-clinching home run is cited as evidence of something negative about his character.

I love the Home Run Derby much more with the clock, which surprised me as much as anyone. I’m not sure you get as true a “winner” as in years past, but having the countdown creates a visceral excitement and build-up while also streamlining the whole process. The downside is, of course, that we will never get another Josh Hamilton-like display in New York where a guy just stands there and hits dingers until he can’t hold up his arms anymore.

Mad respect for all the things he has accomplished in his career, but I hate Chris Berman’s “back-back-back” call.

I love it when  one of the Rockies gets into the All-Star Game and we immediately cut to a conversation with someone else about their favorite kind of hot dog toppings. Oh wait, may have misfiled this one.

I hate that any conversation about Rockies hitters in front of a national audience will inevitably heavily feature Coors Field as a talking point. Though I suspect this year the announcers will be dismissive of the Coors effect on Nolan Arenado’s numbers, I still put the over/under at 2.5 pitches before his home ballpark is mentioned. I hate that likely no other players will have their home ballpark mentioned.

But all told … I love the All-Star Game. Lots of things about it are dumb and overly commercialized. But once a year, the best baseball players in the world stand on one diamond, proudly wearing the symbol of their team and their city, playing the greatest game ever invented … like they were kids again.