For the past 13 years, media and fans have been ripping on former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig for making the All-Star Game determine home field advantage for the World Series.
It turned out to be a brilliant move. While the game became just an exhibition on Tuesday night for the first time since 2002, it conditioned the players to actually put some effort into the game and to have some pride in their on-field performance.
As far as the World Series, the outcome of the All-Star game did have a positive effect (most of the time) for the team with the advantage…unless a series went to a 7th game.
For those of you who want to bad mouth Selig’s idea, you are most likely unaware that MLB alternated home field advantage from year-to-year between the leagues anyway…a completely arbitrary form of determining which team could host four games instead of three.
I argue the All-Star format was a better solution than what baseball used prior to 2003, dating back to the ’20s.
