Scrap World Series Home Field Advantage

A result of quite possibly the absolute dumbest rule change in the history of sports, awarding home field advantage in the World Series to the winning league in the all-star game was purely a reactionary rule change rather than something born out of necessity. We, of course, wouldn’t have to endure such a ridiculous thing if Commissioner Bud Selig wasn’t so clueless and unprepared at the end of the 2002 all-star game in Milwaukee, which ended in a 7-7 tie, after being halted by Selig in the bottom of the 11th inning.

I never quite understood all of the public outrage over that conclusion. Sure, a tie was unsatisfying, but it’s an EXHIBITION game! It’s SUPPOSED to just end when it ends, win, lose, OR DRAW. Manufacturing artificial meaning to the game was never even remotely a good idea. Whatever happened to player pride and professionalism and trying to win simply in the spirit of competition? Why do players need the incentive of home field advantage in the World Series to try to win an all-star game?

By the same twisted logic, why doesn’t MLB just award the World Series advantage to the league which had the better interleague mark in spring training, since you know, those are exhibition games, too?

Obviously, that too, would be a terrible idea. But, it would make as much sense as not simply awarding the World Series home field advantage to the World Series participant with the best regular season record. Unbalanced schedules or not, that’s the way it should be done.

Even if MLB had balanced schedules, there’s no guarantee that everything would be even anyway, due to injuries, trades, call-ups, playing at the same opponents when they’re hot or when they’re cold, and many other reasons. There are just too many factors and different variables to argue that giving the World Series home field advantage to the World Series team with the best record is not the best thing to do.

Awarding the home field advantage to the World Series participant based on that team’s own body of work over 162 games of REAL baseball makes MUCH more sense than basing that designation on a single exhibition game involving other players from that team’s league, in a game that could often be decided by players who may never even sniff the playoffs.

Plus, picture these three scenarios:

1) You thought there was outrage in 2002? Well, this season, we’ve already seen a bad call cost a pitcher a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning. Imagine the backlash if during a similar scenario at the end of a game, a bad call awarded the wrong league home field advantage.

2) Suppose a player hits a walk-off homer run in the bottom of the ninth or in extra innings to take a victory away from one league and give it to his own. And, let’s say that same player then gets traded to the opposite league and ends up making the World Series. That player would have just cost himself and his new team home field advantage in the World Series by doing something positive in the all-star game. There is absolutely no logic to that.

3) We’ve already seen the 2008 all-star game go scoreless for 6½ innings before it was decided in the bottom of the 15th. Although the rosters have since been expanded with extra pitchers and rule changes have been made for very limited re-entry with catchers and for other players only in the case of injury, it’s quite possible teams could still run out of pitchers if the all-star game goes long enough. Now, honestly, how much sense would it make if the New York Yankees, who are on pace to win 103 games, end up as the only team to post triple digit wins and DON’T have home field advantage if they make the World Series simply because current Yankee outfielder and first baseman Nick Swisher (who’s pitched in a blowout before) might be forced to pitch in a tie game, and he gives up a game-winning hit in the top of the 18th? You think there might be just a few complaints over that one, which might rival the 2002 tie? And, if it’s a 100+ win team facing an 82-win wild-card team in the World Series, there’s absolutely nothing that should happen in the MLB all-star game that should occur, which should award that wild-card team home field advantage in the World Series. If that did happen, why should there not be more outrage over that than an all-star game tie? You just have to wonder what people are thinking sometimes!

The bottom line is quite simply this. The NBA finals were so close this past season, that home court was probably the difference. If Game 7 were in Boston, chances are, the Celtics would have won the NBA title. As it was, it was the Lakers won it all hosting Game 7 in Los Angeles. And yet, the Celtics and Lakers played very different regular season schedules. But, it doesn’t matter, the NBA still does it right, giving home court to the teams with the best records, regardless of who won or lost the NBA all-star game. MLB needs to follow suit and realize that as an exhibition, the mid-summer classic should have nothing to do with the fall classic.

Player Selection Changes

I’m a little torn on the next two points I’m about to make. Here I am discussing the all-star game for the pure exhibition that it is, and yet, I’m about to argue for taking the fan vote out of the equation. On one hand, I remember how much fun it used to be going to the park and filling out the ballot, or seeing my own guys, my New York Mets, represented in the all-star game.

But, that’s wrong. The fans simply can’t be trusted any longer to get it right. They’ve made it a popularity contest and have rewarded too many players who don’t deserve to make the team (don’t feel so bad, baseball fans, the same thing happens annually with the NBA all-star game).

Ideally, the voting should be left to the experts who know the teams the most, and it should be done based on each league, in the fairest way possible. Select two radio broadcasters, two television broadcasters, a select number of beat reporters for each team in each league, and the manager of each team. Let them all vote only for the league which they cover or manage in, and allow them to collectively select the entire roster for that league, starters first, followed by all reserves. That way, there’s a greater chance that only the most deserving players would be voted in correctly as starters and reserves, and that only the undeserving players would get snubbed.

To keep the fans engaged with voting, let fans instead vote in players to compete in skills competitions (which I’ll get to in a moment), whether that group of players would consist of those who would make the all-star rosters, or if they might be additional players to compete in skills competitions.

Next, get rid of the current rule that a player from each team must be chosen. Sorry, but it’s not kindergarten, where everyone gets a gold star for something. It’s Major League Baseball. You’re either an all-star level player or you’re not. Take only the best in the players league, irrespective of their teams.

Other than Yankee fans, no one wants to see a dozen or more Yankees in the all-star game. But, if they happen to have that many players who deserve to be selected over players from awful bottom feeders like Baltimore, Cleveland, or Seattle, they should go to the all-star game and simply marginally good players on terrible teams should enjoy the three days away from baseball.

Another consideration is that player’s contracts, in the form of bonuses and incentives, are tied to all-star games, so it’s important to get the selections right and choose only the players who deserve being selected, the most. Taking the fan vote away and taking only the best players regardless of the teams they play for, would accomplish that.

Count The Home Run Derby Fairly

Sorry again, but when you hit by far the most home runs, you should be the home run champion. What a disgrace it was that Josh Hamilton was easily the star of the show two years ago, and finished second. It made as much sense as the all-star game deciding World Series home field advantage.

During the 2008 home run derby at Yankee Stadium, Hamilton hammered 28 first-round homers, TWENTY more than anyone else in that round. After two rounds, he reached the finals with a very sizable 32-17 total margin over Justin Morneau, who outhomered Hamilton 5-3 in the finals to (in my opinion) very wrongly and unfairly take home the home run derby crown despite being considerably outhomered 35-22 by Hamilton, overall.

And, here’s another change that makes sense… With 10 outs per player, per round, it drags on for hours. When players sometimes wait around too long, and can’t get into any kind of rhythm, what’s the point? A perfect example was this year’s home run derby on Monday night. Milwaukee’s Corey Hart led all contestants with 13 first-round homers, as the only player in double figures during the opening round, including each of his final five blasts all going at least 450 feet. But, he was eliminated with no homers in round two after sitting around for 91 minutes between first-round and second-round swings.

Cut it in half, to five outs per player, per round, and use the extra time to…

Add Other Skills Competitions

Just a few ideas… Fielding and throwing to first base or to second base, for third basemen, shortstops, and second basemen; testing first basemen’s ability to pick balls in the dirt or to turn a 3-6-3 double play; testing the best outfield arms, such as the longest outfield throws and the most accurate throws to second base, third base, or home plate; see who the fastest runners are going from home to first, home to second, home to third, or first to third; or perhaps, test catchers crouching behind home plate with their accuracy for throwing out potential base stealers at second or third base.

The best baseball players are recognized as five-tool players, yet we only see one on display -– home run power -– during the all-star break. Hold a five-tool competition with each of those tools tested, making up 20 percent of a total score.

I’m not sure what could be done for pitchers. We don’t want to see them throwing out their arms trying to top each other on the radar gun, but perhaps technology could be used to test who has the best command and who can most consistently paint the corners of the plate.

At any rate, if fans had a vote for these types of activities, they might even be more interested to see such competitions rather than the all-star game itself (which often falls well short of the pre-game hype by the fifth inning) .

MLB, Hear Me Out And Improve The All-Star Break And World Series!

Alright, now that I’ve said my peace, I’ll step down and let Bud return as acting commissioner. But, Mr. Selig, for the good of the game, please make the above changes –- I’ll settle for the first two –- and we’ll all enjoy a much better All-Star break and World Series each year.

Yet, there’s the other side.  While some guys can’t wait to get away from their well-paid group of “friends” who either weren’t paid enough or weren’t worth their paychecks, hence the going home after game 162, there are some guys who don’t want to go home.  Why?  You’ve heard phrases like Life begins at 40, right?  For ballplayers, Live begins at home once the season ends.  In other words, the responsibility of thinking basically only about yourself every day ends abruptly.  Now you need to think about the wife or live-in girlfriend and the kids.  The younger guys might end up going home to where their parents live; maybe not the same house, but likely the same town.  Since most kids aren’t buddy/buddy with their folks, and since most Thanksgiving dinners are not the stuff of a Norman Rockwell painting, most MLB kids do not look forward to seeing Mom & Dad every day for the next 5 months.

For some players, there’s surgery.  Read the Notes section a day or two after the last game of the season and you’ll see this player and that player are suddenly scheduled for some sort of surgery, ranging from minor to Six Million Dollar Man rebuilding, the kind that you’ll hear about as spring training begins and ends and our Six Million Dollar Man is wearing jeans every day instead of a jock.  If you’ve ever had surgery, any kind of surgery, it’s not fun.  Some guys know already they’ll have to go under the knife the first or second week of October.  Some guys know but are in denial about it, just like they’ve been in denial about how bad their team is, and will continue to be, in order to get to this point in the season.  Some guys just think they’re sore right now and are in for quite a surprise once they take that exit physical.  And then the fun of the off season, of not having to travel all the time or live in a hotel half the time or hang out with a band of jerks most of the time or get badgered by the media the times when you screw up doesn’t really matter because you’re going to spend much of your upcoming time rehabbing.  If you lust for the upcoming 5 months, surgery is like a cold shower.

The upcoming off season isn’t really an off season for some players.  Some are going to fly to Arizona or Hawaii or Mexico or Central America and keep playing.  There’s the Arizona Fall League for the game’s more elite prospects and the Caribbean League for those who either come from that part of the world or need to get better at their game.  Some will keep playing because they simply love to play baseball.  They grew up playing ball all year round.  Why stop just because they’re adults?  Others live for the Caribbean League because they are stars down there.  Even if they’re not big shots in the States, they may be legends-in-the-making south of our borders.  There are always fans willing to pay to scream your name.  There are always ladies will to whisper your name in your ear.  There is always the pull of fame and its perks.  When the MLB season ends, the fun for some has just begun.

Finally, there are the guys who are going to spend the entire off season either being courted by teams and sponsors – your elite free agents – or guys doing the courting – your 25th man free agents.  These are the guys who will feel the stress of looking for work starting 15 days after the last game of the World Series.  Some guys will love the process.  It’ll be their Caribbean League equivalent, getting loved and cheered by front office executives, media personnel and fans in cities you could love if the money is right.

Other players will hate the process.  There’s either the stress of squeezing as much money as possible in a bad economy from the winning bidder and then living up to your new billing as The Next Big Thing or there’s the stress of your phone not ringing.  There’s that stress of knowing your agent is working to get 28 other guys jobs before he gets to you.  Which means the available jobs won’t be as lucrative as you had dreamed, or the city you’ll have to settle for isn’t on a coast, or you might be insulted by not getting any offers until Christmas and New Year’s and MLK Day and Valentine’s Day pass you by.  There’s the stress of waiting and wondering why you skipped playing in Puerto Rico this off season when you could have been showing off your skills instead of protecting yourself from possible injury.  Add in that you potentially don’t like your wife (or she doesn’t like you), your parents bug you every day, and, quite frankly, you don’t have anything to do and suddenly miss the camaraderie of hanging out with a bunch of jerks all the time and you’ll begin to long for the end of the off season.  Soon enough, you’ll find yourself telling people you can’t wait for 2010, when The New Season Cometh and you can get away from the reality of a cold winter without baseball.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.  Visit Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy and guests Desi Relaford, Eric Valent & Cassidy Dover.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball.  Go there now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Rollie Fingers, Desi Relaford, Brent Mayne and MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.  You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.

The best place to hide a tree is in the forest, right? Raphael Palmeiro tried that on March 17, 2005 and accentuated it with a pointed finger. The former Texas Ranger made every attempt to deflect the attention away from him as far as steroids were concerned. Boy, did that blow up in his face.

Now we have David Ortiz standing up and making a bold statement, not about anything concerning his own steroid use, but baseball players in general. Speaking at the Red Sox spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida, Big Papi told reporters that if a player tests positive for steroids even once, “Ban ‘em for the whole year.”

Not exactly what you would call a physical specimen, Ortiz does possess great power and some of the names that have come out over the years as steroid users wouldn’t be mistaken for bodybuilders, either. Case in point, Mo Vaughn, who could pass for Ortiz with their similar girth and Boston uniform. Big Mo was named in the Mitchell Report and was also spoken about in Kirk Radomski’s new book, “Bases Loaded.”

Vaughn was the caliber of player that thought merely using performance-enhancing drug was all it takes to benefit. He did not exercise and was inconsistent with using the substances, which Radomski described as the reason why Vaughn looked the way he did.

Hypothetically, let’s say Ortiz realized that he needed to make a decision to save his career after being cut by the Minnesota Twins in December of 2002. Although he had decent numbers that year (.272, 20, 75), his numbers went way up his first year at Fenway, with not only his batting average being higher, but his home runs and RBI jumped to 31 and 101, respectively.

He then became a legitimate superstar and hit a career-high 54 bombs in 2006. His numbers have declined since, and he also missed some time last summer due to injury.

It isn’t impossible that Ortiz dabbled into the use of steroids at one time and may now be clean, so it’s easy to step up and make a statement like he did. He was going yard and in a big way during the period that has been proven to be the so-called ‘steroid era.’

By stepping up and saying,”Hey, come and test all of us and throw us out if we’re stupid enough to do it,’ Ortiz deflects any doubt that may have been lingering over him.

Similar to what Pameiro did. Get my drift?

Now we have David Ortiz standing up and making a bold statement, not about anything concerning his own steroid use, but baseball players in general. Speaking at the Red Sox spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida, Big Papi told reporters that if a player tests positive for steroids even once, “Ban ‘em for the whole year.”

Not exactly what you would call a physical specimen, Ortiz does possess great power and some of the names that have come out over the years as steroid users wouldn’t be mistaken for bodybuilders, either. Case in point, Mo Vaughn, who could pass for Ortiz with their similar girth and Boston uniform. Big Mo was named in the Mitchell Report and was also spoken about in Kirk Radomski’s new book, “Bases Loaded.”

Vaughn was the caliber of player that thought merely using performance-enhancing drug was all it takes to benefit. He did not exercise and was inconsistent with using the substances, which Radomski described as the reason why Vaughn looked the way he did.

Hypothetically, let’s say Ortiz realized that he needed to make a decision to save his career after being cut by the Minnesota Twins in December of 2002. Although he had decent numbers that year (.272, 20, 75), his numbers went way up his first year at Fenway, with not only his batting average being higher, but his home runs and RBI jumped to 31 and 101, respectively.

He then became a legitimate superstar and hit a career-high 54 bombs in 2006. His numbers have declined since, and he also missed some time last summer due to injury.

It isn’t impossible that Ortiz dabbled into the use of steroids at one time and may now be clean, so it’s easy to step up and make a statement like he did. He was going yard and in a big way during the period that has been proven to be the so-called ’steroid era.’

By stepping up and saying,”Hey, come and test all of us and throw us out if we’re stupid enough to do it,’ Ortiz deflects any doubt that may have been lingering over him.

Similar to what Pameiro did. Get my drift?