The Current MLB All Star Game Format is Perfect, But Please Let The Players Wear Their Team Uniforms Moving Forward
Here are five takeaways from the 2023 MLB All-Star Game
1- I've never seen a baseball game start with back-to-back fantastic catches
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God, it helps to have a good defense behind you. A ballgame rarely begins with back-to-back great catches. It's even rarer when those catches from the right and left fielders, respectively. It doesn't hurt that both men were in the Home Run Derby last night and are also close friends. Quick sidebar, but we should've seen the St. Louis Cardinals' downfall coming when they got rid of both of these guys. I know St. Louis' main issue has been that their pitching staff stinks, but can you imagine this lineup with those two guys? They'd be tough to beat.
2- There's never been a baseball player like Shohei Ohtani. I've said this a million times, but it's worth repeating
We all know at this point what makes Shohei special. He seems to make history every night, but there is something unique about the fact that he's in a contract year, and the entire world is begging him to leave Anaheim. I'm only twenty-eight years old, but I don't recall an instance in which an opposing crowd started chanting for a player to come to play for their team. I would've done the same thing. If the Mariners go all out and end up signing Ohtani this offseason, that clip will age exceptionally well.
3- Elias Diaz stole the night
I love this game, and I try to get to know every team as well as I can, but I need help with the Colorado Rockies. If you're looking for an organization with no plan, look no further than Colorado. At the same time, someone like Elias Diaz is why I will continue to support the rule that every team deserves a representative. Good players always fall through the cracks because they play on teams that no one wants to watch. Elias Diaz is thirty-two years old and playing in his first All-Star. He hit a go-ahead home run and took home the MVP. That's a fucking awesome story that could only happen in baseball.
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4- The current format is perfect, but please let the players wear their team uniforms next time
The MLB All-Star Game is the only one in which you can tell the players are actually trying. A few years back, NBA fans got excited when the All-Star Game introduced some weird Cones Of Dunshire rules meant to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant, but that did nothing for me. If a guy throws 100 MPH in the regular season, he will do it in the All-Star Game, and that's awesome. It's the only All-Star Game that has actual drama in it. I'm not going to lie; I felt some anxiety there in the 9th inning. Even though he drew a walk, seeing Julio Rodriguez step to the dish with an opportunity to tie or win the game was pretty special. It was all so cool, but please eliminate those dreadful uniforms. One of the appeals of this game is that the average fan gets to watch some players they might not see very often. It eliminates some of the appeal when you have difficulty figuring out which team these guys play for. That's a minor complaint, but a complaint nonetheless.
5- The National League finally did the damn thing
It's strange how much the AL has dominated this thing over the last decade. Everyone in the game is an All-Star, so it's not like there's been some massive talent gap. The games are often not pretty close, but the National League just hasn't been able to get over the hump. Before tonight, they last won in 2012, mainly because Justin Verlander was trying to throw as hard as possible and get blitzed in the first inning. Circumstances have changed. The game no longer determines home-field advantage for the World Series, but it's still a competitive game year in and year out. The game ultimately means nothing, but the National League was happy to get the monkey off their back.