Making the Midsummer Classic Matter Again

Over at his blog Bob Ryan reminds us how the All Star Game once mattered and how, with a few tweaks, it could mean something again, even if it will never mean what it once did. I came of age during the transition period. When I was a kid, the All Star game was truly the Midsummer Classic. Sometime in the 1980s, though, the game, while still hyped, became a mere exhibition. I'm actually ok with the All Star game being an exhibition, but I would like to see the competitive luster return to this July interregnum in the baseball calendar.

But if it is going to be a lark, a spectacle, then I am going to be selfish about it. When I was a kid I lived for the appearances of the Red Sox, for the Boston starters to get multiple at bats, for Sox pitchers to get into the game. Now? I'd as soon see the Sox pitchers leave their cups in their lockers because they know they are not going to pitch. I don't care if any of the Red Sox players see the field. If they do, of course I want them to do well. But if Manny sits I won't lament it -- save it for the regular games. Or else play the All Star Game for real. I'd welcome a return to the spirit of the 1960s and 1970s. Maybe tonight an old-school manager like Jim Leyland will take an old school approach in a new school era. I doubt it. But I can hope.

I would love to see a home run from Big Papi, however. And an American League win would be nice, as it would give the Red Sox a shot at home field advantage if they make it to the Fall Classic, the seasonal classic that really matters.