# I've lost interest in the All-Star Game **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 14, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614 "2010-07-14T01:02:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/41 "2010-07-15T02:52:27Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > LaRussa used 28 players in that game. Are you trying to suggest he was holding back? It didn’t have fuck-all to do with the game “meaning something” - it had to do with holding a single positional player back in case the game went extra innings (which it did the year before and the teams ran out of position players, so Selig had to call the game a tie - a far greater travesty than Pujols’ own manager not putting him in the game). The article you link to gives an extremely thorough reasoning of why LaRussa did what he did - did you even read it? Of course I read it. That’s my point, though. It’s not whether LaRussa made the right call or not. It’s the fact that he’s even _thinking about_ how to win the game. That’s the travesty. He put the W ahead of the spectacle, in other words. I watch the ASG to see my favorite players battle it out individually, not to see who wins. Try taking the win out of the equation. Pretend it doesn’t matter one iota…does LaRussa’s decision make sense? Not at all. He should have put Pujols in the game so that the fans could see him do what he does best. Now, I understand that it’s hard to get _every_ player out there on the field. There’s 32 of them. That’s a lot to get through. But, c’mon, PUJOLS?! ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/42 "2010-07-15T02:55:53Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I’m giving you my baseball, in exchange for your football. More of what you like for you, more of what I like for me. Win-win. What’ll you give me for the NFC, college, and high school games? I’ll even toss in the [Pittsburgh Passion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Passion) and the rest of the NWFA. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/43 "2010-07-15T03:44:35Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Try taking the win out of the equation. Pretend it doesn’t matter one iota…does LaRussa’s decision make sense? Not at all. He should have put Pujols in the game so that the fans could see him do what he does best. Now, I understand that it’s hard to get _every_ player out there on the field. There’s 32 of them. That’s a lot to get through. But, c’mon, PUJOLS?! It makes perfect sense. Like I mentioned, the previous season’s ASG ended in a tie because they ran out of players. THAT was a (easily avoided) travesty. Holding back Pujols - a player who at that time was still playing 1B/3B/OF - gives LaRussa the most flexible option out there to not completely embarrass the game (again). Notice the complete lack of the word “win” in either of my posts. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/44 "2010-07-15T04:18:34Z")
> [@](#): > > [/It’s not supposed to be a Put-Everyone-in-the-Game-by-the-8th-inning, as it’s become. > > 1. It’s ALWAYS been that way. Not really. The first All-Star game had all the position players play all nine innings. Also compare the [1958](http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ALS/ALS195807080.shtml) and [1978](http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NLS/NLS197807110.shtml) games to [last night’s game.](http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ALS/ALS201007130.shtml) If you really want the game to matter, get rid of fan voting and mandatory representation, have the best players go all the way, and have the starting pitchers go three innings at least. Or you could just accept what fans and players have long known–it’s just a very fun exhibition game. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/45 "2010-07-15T05:23:45Z")
The OP isn’t the only one who’s lost interest; this year’s game got the lowest-ever ratings for an ASG, down 16% versus last year: [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/07/14/all.star.ratings.ap/index.html?eref=sihp](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/07/14/all.star.ratings.ap/index.html?eref=sihp) ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/46 "2010-07-15T07:41:50Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > But it was worth it, to hear Joe Buck take a swipe at FOX’s self-promotion by asking “Was that the cast of _Glee_ singing that song?” 😛 That wasn’t Joe Buck taking a swipe at Fox, that was Joe Buck getting the Glee plug in, which was the whole point of that bit. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/47 "2010-07-15T12:40:00Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The OP isn’t the only one who’s lost interest; this year’s game got the lowest-ever ratings for an ASG, down 16% versus last year: > > [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/07/14/all.star.ratings.ap/index.html?eref=sihp](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/07/14/all.star.ratings.ap/index.html?eref=sihp) I heard that this morning. I don’t watch a lot of television in the summer - but I really don’t recall seeing any commercials at all for the All Star Game. Baseball itself is doing really well this year - there are great stories, dominating players, and attendance is up. Did FOX drop the ball? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/48 "2010-07-15T13:02:12Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > That wasn’t Joe Buck taking a swipe at Fox, that was Joe Buck getting the Glee plug in, which was the whole point of that bit. That wasn’t how I interpreted it. The song was clearly sung by little kids, not the cast of _Glee_. I took it that Buck recognized that _a)_ the bit was silly, and _b)_ FOX has been shoving _Glee_ down our throats all night, and put the two together to make a joke. Maybe I’m way off… But I’m still not watching _Glee_ so I guess it doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/49 "2010-07-15T13:12:20Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Like I mentioned, the previous season’s ASG ended in a tie because they ran out of players. Isn’t it the case that the previous ASG had to be called because they ran out of pitchers? Something that holding Pujols back does not help with? Personally, I’ve never had any interest in the All Star Game so I can’t say it has waned. My only problem with attaching WS home field advantage is that now it creates a weird hybrid where the game is 80% exhibition, 5% serious, and 15% pretending it is serious. Personally, if I were attaching home field advantage to anything it would be, in descending order: 1. The league that wins more interleague games. 2. The WS team with the better regular season record. 3. Alternate years 4. Coin flip 5. Psychic octopus 6. The team willing to offer human sacrifice of the most valuable player. … 7. Winner of the All Star Game. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/50 "2010-07-15T19:05:29Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Has anyone leaked what sort of shennanigans Ichiro got into before the game started? He’s traditionally given the AL pregame motivational speech the last few years, and they’ve been curse-filled tirades that takes everyone totally off guard. Damn - [he’s looking to quit the practice](http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Ichiro-Time-to-turn-page-on-profanity-laden-A?urn=mlb,256183) now that the streak is over. I was just hoping he’d be able to pull out [his favorite American expression](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtImIqR5neU) in 2012, when the game’s in Kansas City. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614/51 "2010-07-15T19:23:07Z")
I lost interest in the All-Star game a long time ago, mainly because the rosters are now way too big, and are filled with guys who don’t meet ANYBODY’S definition of “All-star.” When I look at “All-Stars” and wonder “Who the hell are they,” something is wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-lost-interest-in-the-all-star-game/546614.md?page=2)