Going Deep!!!

We Americans love a good debate! We all have an opinion and we don’t mind sharing that opinion on anything, everything, but usually on nothing. We will sit in chat rooms and debate for hours, with someone we likely haven’t met face to face, on who was the best pitcher, hitter, manager, fielder, team, or owner of all time. We usually don’t arrive at a consensus of any kind and further entrench ourselves in our original opinions and leave with a lower opinion of those with whom we have spent our time.

What does this do with baseball? I think this is precisely the genesis of the all-star game. One day, a long time ago, some baseball higher-ups where talking and got into a debate on what would happen if the best players from the American and National Leagues got together for an Exhibition. The first of which took place in 1933 and has been held ever since with the exception of 1945. One note of interest is that from 1959 – 1962, there were two all-star games held each year about a month apart each time.

Baseball is the only sport that takes its all-star game seriously. Football players recognize it as an end of the season party and their only goal is to spend a week in Hawaii without getting hurt. The NBA has turned their game into a game without defense and makes no attempt, just as the NFL, to stage a serious game. But baseball on the other hand, they give the home field advantage to the winning league for the World Series. When the 2002 All-star game ended in a tie, there was uproar in America. Baseball games don’t end in ties!!! How dare they allow an exhibition to finish without a clear winner! Because of this, and mainly rating, the concept of home field advantage for the winning league was conceived. This idea is one of the great failures of Bud Selig. Exhibition games should not affect the course of a world championship. Basketball does not let a game of HORSE decide who gets to host games 1 & 2 of the Finals nor does any other league demand so much from a game that doesn’t even count in the standings. Baseball should give home field advantage to the team with the best record and leave it at that.

My grievance with the All-star game notwithstanding, there is one event that I look forward to. It is the only all-star event that I would ever consider attending and paying for it with my own money. The home run derby is the greatest event of any of the all-star activities in any sport. It is better than the dunk contest, 3-point contest, and better than whatever the NFL does. Home runs are the ultimate achievement in sports. Few people know what the record is for most 3-pointers, dunks, assists, touchdowns, completions, or blocks but the average sports fan knows the significance of the numbers 61, 70, and 73. The home run chase of 1996 is what saved baseball from the strike of 1994 and will be the poster image for the performance enhancing drug era of baseball.

For one night, everyone is swinging for the fences and several fans are going home with a souvenir. The night belongs to the person who can consistently crush the ball and hit it into the stands, bullpen, river or bay. In a regular season game, home runs of any kind are equally cheered but during the derby, style points count. People want to see the home runs that go 520 feet, and they want to see it time after time. In 2008, Josh Hamilton did not win the contest, but he put on the best show with 28 home runs in the first round. A truly timeless performance which make the home run derby, the best of its kind. If NASCAR could have a night where they only have crashes, this would be the only comparison. The Dunk contest is more miss than hit and the 3-point contest is never anything special. I can hit a 3-pointer, given enough chances, but I can’t hit a ball 475 feet.

So let the debate continue. We may not another performance like Josh Hamilton ‘s, but you will be entertained and you will be in awe as major leaguers go deep, jump ship, and swing for the fences!!