Last night, the 2023 MLB All-Star Game was played, and it showcased why the MLB’s version of exhibition is the best of the four major American sports. We had home runs, leaping catches, runners caught stealing, and it all came down to a dramatic finish in the bottom of the ninth. In case you missed it, here are the highlights:
Rockies catcher Elias Díaz led the National League to their first All-Star Game win since 2012, and picked up an MVP for himself along the way. His two run homer in the top of the eighth put the NL on top, and it ended up being the winning score of the game. This, however, was nearly not the case, as the AL began to surge during the bottom of the ninth. Wander Franco came within feet of tying the game up with the first at bat, and soon after there were two men on, giving the AL a chance to tie or win. With the whole stadium on their feet and every TV viewer’s butt on the edge of their seat, Craig Kimbrel was able to seal the deal with a strikeout.
This is the type of suspense you can’t find in any other All-Star Game.
I talked about how poor the NBA All-Star Game was in a previous blog, and many of the reasons why the NBA’s showcase fails are the same reasons why the NFL and NHL All-Star Games stink as well. Mainly, players worry about injuries so they don’t play as hard, and they go for highlight level plays, so the defense is terrible. This leads to a lower level of play and competition, even though the best players in the world are the ones on the ice/field/court.
What’s great about the MLB All-Star Game is that players play hard to make highlights, and that includes when they’re on defense. Just look at the first two at bats of last night’s game:
Take note that these plays were both made at the warning track, which is undoubtedly the most injury inducing area of the field. This would be the equivalent of an NBA player going hard at a contested rim, looking to make a poster dunk, but you never see that happen in their All-Star Games. These also weren’t the only defensive highlights. Plays kept on being made throughout the night, and if you watch the full game highlights that I linked above, most of the plays were made on the defensive side of the ball.
Pitchers also have a reason to perform at their best. It’s an ego boost to play well against the best batters in the game, and with less time on the mound, they can throw as hard as possible. This leads to many pitches like we saw last night, with speeds in the hundreds, and with movement like you wouldn’t believe.
I don’t think I have to say it, but batters swing for the fences in the All-Star game. Everybody wants to go yard, and there is no better feeling than hitting a homer against the best pitchers in the world.
In short, to make highlights in baseball, you have to go all out, no matter what position, and no matter which side of the ball you’re on. Defense is more glamorous in baseball than any other sport. Sure, a pick six will make it on ESPN’s Top 10, but what will always end up higher on the list is a robbed home run, a diving catch, a runner being thrown out by a catcher, and so on and so forth. Baseball requires a dance between offense and defense to make highlights, and the same can’t be said for any other sport.
Something that does need to change in every All-Star Game are the uniforms. Whoever were the people who decided to switch from each player wearing their own teams’ jersey, to every player on each team wearing the same jersey should be fired. Twice if that’s even possible. I’m not saying the jerseys last night were poorly designed, it’s just so much cooler having every team’s jerseys on the field at one time.
Another thing the MLB could incorporate in their All-Star Game to include the fans more is this:
I’m only joking on this one. Or am I? Just look at the batter spike his bat after the fan snatched the ball out of the air. That is pure emotion that no fan has ever been able to give to a player in the MLB. It would be even better if kids were the only ones allowed to have gloves so we could get more moments like this:
Now, here’s a good closing statistic to show how much better the MLB’s All-Star Game is than the rest:
“MLB All-Star Game is lowest rated and least-watched ever, still ranks as the most-watched All-Star event in sports”. How can other leagues read that and not be ashamed of themselves? I have zero interest in watching a flag football game or a dunk line. Give me competitiveness and physicality, or give me death!