As incredible as it may sound, the American League has not lost an All-Star game since 1996. When I was a kid, it was the National League that dominated. It's often said, with some truth, that the game has become less of a competition and more of an exhibition. But it will always be competitive, if only because baseball is a team game played by individuals. No batter is going to make an out on purpose. Each batter is going to try his hardest to get a hit, if only for the sake of pride. Each pitcher is going to try his hardest to get batters out, if only for the sake of pride. Nobody wants to look bad in front of a national audience, especially when that audience will be choosing the following year's All Stars. There are differences, obviously. Because the game doesn't count in the standings, players aren't going to risk injury by running into walls, diving into the stands, or sliding head first into bases. The game will be played in St Louis, which is said to have the best (meaning most knowledgeable and best-behaved) fans in Major League Baseball. I predict that Michael Young of the Texas Rangers will get the game-winning hit (for the third time) and that the American League will trounce the National League, 11-4. Do you plan to watch the game? If not, why not?
Addendum: It sickens me to hear that there is a home-field advantage in the World Series. There is not. As evidence, note that three of the past six World Series winners were National League teams. In all six of those Series, the American League had the so-called home-field advantage. I have a question for anyone who thinks there is a home-field advantage in the World Series: Why did nobody mention it until 2003, when Bud Selig, the P. T. Barnum of baseball, created it? Surely, if there were a home-field advantage, somebody would have noticed it and mentioned it! It's a marketing gimmick, nothing more. That anyone with any intelligence falls for it saddens me.
Addendum 2: The American League won, 4-3. Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays was named the Most Valuable Player.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 