All Star Week Gamethread

[patinorange]

Some would say that the gimmick is ILP, but I guess that makes us sound 1000 years old.

It’s all getting cloudy as I get older, but seeing the Dodgers with Drysdale on a Saturday afternoon game of the week, the great Pirates team with Roberto Clemente and Manny Sanguillen (with that crazy catching stance) really was a treat. And the all star game with players you never saw all season was pretty cool. Those days are long gone with cable TV and the internet, but sometimes I think about them watching the all star game. Yup, 1000 years old.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Some would say that the gimmick is ILP, but I guess that makes us sound 1000 years old.

The gimmick's the damned DH

 

[shawnrbu]

I think there should be cash prize for the winning team and the winning league gets to play the World Series under their set of rules. Also, if you build a streak like the 8 in a row currently, the cash gets increased like a parlay in gambling.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

I think there should be cash prize for the winning team and the winning league gets to play the World Series under their set of rules. Also, if you build a streak like the 8 in a row currently, the cash gets increased like a parlay in gambling.

Then I think it risks becoming too serious and fewer guys play and it gets taken too seriously.

 

[jon abbey]

If it’s for money, it should be divided by salary, maybe the under $10M team against the over $10M team or whatever number works there for balance.

 

[Obscure Name]

Then I think it risks becoming too serious and fewer guys play and it gets taken too seriously.

How about a mystery prize?

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

How about a mystery prize?

Always a good solution. And the losing team gets a Zonk.

 

[jose melendez]

If it comes out of a box, it's gonna get fucking over.

 

[moretsyndrome]

How about a mystery prize?

I think they should euthanize one losing player’s pet every year, just to keep them on their toes.

 

[richgedman'sghost]

Give him another couple years and Manfred will "improve the fan experience" by starting each inning with one of their own standing on second base.

They are actually getting rid of the ghost runner in extra innings and the 7 inning double headers. Honestly not lying.

 

[Kliq]

If it comes out of a box, it's gonna get fucking over.

I've got an even better idea

 

[Ale Xander]

The gimmicks are the runners on 2nd inning in the 10th and the shift and for those teams that don’t have a Baylor or an Ortiz or a JDM, the DH.

ILP is great. You get 20 good to very good special games instead of one great one. The calculus works there.

 

[caminante11]

Today is an empty day on the baseball schedule. They should have had the futures game and the draft today. See the current All Stars and then the next day the future all stars.

 

[Humphrey]

Yep.

It was 37-20 in favor of the NL some time in the 80s. AL's ahead now. That's quite a turnaround.
Why would anyone give a shit more about US vs non-US? Did the world tournament catch on? No.

 

[Humphrey]

Interleague play did wreck much of the wonder of the ASG, no doubt. But I think it's in the end a net positive.

So did abundant tv broadcasts of the other league, which started in the late 70s/early 80s. No complaint about that, either. In the 60s around Boston you might get 10 NL games broadcast a year. Good players on NL teams that didn't play in those games you never saw.
My only complaint with ILP is the odd number of teams in each league and the necessity to have an interleague series throughout the season. The ones at the end of the season do more harm than good.

 

[Humphrey]

Everyone complaining about how the ASG doesn't feel special because of ILP sounds 1,000 years old. The game was entertaining and perfectly fine tonight and all the players played hard. We don't need a gimmick incentive to make it better.

It should also be noted the game took 3 hours and even with all the pitching changes, had an acceptable pace to it.

 

[Van Everyman]

That was the first ASG I've watched in its entirety for a long, long time. Despite a metric shit ton of bellyaching here, I really liked it. After years of cheating, steroids, pandemics and pace of play garbage, this thing felt legitimately energetic. A big part was that there is a ton of excitement around the international players. Not just Ohtani, but VGJ, Tatis, and Lynn. The Red Sox selections to this year's team are an exciting bunch. The Reggie Smith thing felt special and Melancon's reaction was awesome.

X's comment a la "We have our game back" summed it up for me.

Is baseball back and back big?

 

[jose melendez]

I've got an even better idea

View attachment 42643

The Gobbeldygooker was basically the Philly Phanatic, so it checks out.

 

[Max Power]

It should also be noted the game took 3 hours and even with all the pitching changes, had an acceptable pace to it.

The pitchers were all just catching and throwing. There wasn't a minute in between every pitch staring at signs, stepping off, looking inside his hat, and finally throwing a pickoff to first. The game is much more enjoyable without all the time wasting.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

The pitchers were all just catching and throwing. There wasn't a minute in between every pitch staring at signs, stepping off, looking inside his hat, and finally throwing a pickoff to first. The game is much more enjoyable without all the time wasting.

And no one was working the count trying to drive pitch counts up and hoping for a walk