Cooperstown Confidential: reviewing the All-Star game

As someone who grew up watching the Midsummer Classic in the seventies, I feel safe in saying that the All-Star Game is not what it used to be. The game lacks the smoldering intensity of that long-ago decade, when a genuine rivalry—bordering on sheer dislike—existed between the two leagues. But the All-Star Game is still good, as proven by the quality display put on by the American and National League stars on Tuesday night.

This year’s Classic showed baseball at its showcase best. When pitchers don’t dawdle, when they throw strikes repeatedly, and when hitters feel compelled to swing early in the count, the game takes on an aesthetic quality that can draw in the most casual of fans. Of all the pitchers used on Tuesday night, only the insufferable Jonathan Papelbon refused to cooperate with the “work fast” theme. (As he always does, Papelbon routinely took 20 to 25 seconds between pitches.) From an offense standpoint, swinging early and often is not necessarily the best (and certainly not the most sabermetric) way of maximizing a team’s ability to score runs, but deep counts and foul balls are not particularly enjoyable to watch. Most fans want to see the ball put in play, they want to see action, and they want to see highlight reel plays on defense. With a game that ran under two-and-a-half hours, a sustained two-out rally by the National League, and remarkable catches by Carl Crawford in left field and Jayson Werth in center (playing out of position, no less), the 80th All-Star Classic provided all of that.

As always, the All-Star Game supplies plenty of fodder for commentators, both in terms of the game itself and the coverage by the friends at FOX. Here are a few observations, some more pertinent and some more random, about this year’s midsummer game.

{exp:list_maker}Why does the All-Star Game continue to be the “Joe Buck Show?” It’s difficult enough to have to listen to Buck, who would prefer to be at a football game or reading another promo for the NFL, arrogantly strain himself through nine innings of baseball play-by-play, but why does he also have to handle the pre-game introductions and all the in-game ceremonies that take place throughout the night? Aren’t those duties to be handled by the public address announcer at the new Busch Stadium? In addition to a disinterested tone toward baseball, Buck simply lacks the commanding vocal power and presence of a legitimate PA man. (He also apparently doesn’t know how to pronounce Chone Figgins’ first name.) Clearly, there should be a separation between the play-by-play broadcaster and the stadium announcer; I wish that FOX would grasp that distinction by the time the 2011 game rolls around.

I found it curious that FOX provided no close-up shots of Cardinals legend Stan Musial as he made his way toward the infield on a golf cart. Musial’s health has deteriorated badly over the last few seasons, leaving him looking older than his 88 years. Perhaps FOX, out of respect for the gentlemanly Musial, who has long been one of baseball’s nice guys, simply decided to take a more compassionate approach by keeping its distance. If that was the reasoning, FOX should be applauded for its decision.

FOX’s camera work and use of replay was generally good throughout the game, but the camera angle used to follow President Barack Obama’s ceremonial first pitch was inexplicable. No matter whom the President is—and no matter what political party he hails from—we always want to see if he can reach the catcher with his first pitch. FOX’s coverage kept us in the dark because the camera angle initially showed only Obama against the background of the first base stands. It was not until mid-game that we saw the President’s first pitch barely reach Albert Pujols’ glove, which snared the ball a few inches above the ground. Admittedly, this is a minor criticism of the coverage, but the inability to chronicle something as basic as the first pitch does make one wonder about FOX and its capacity to cover baseball.

National League manager Charlie Manuel should have kept Albert Pujols in for the entire game, instead of pulling him after six innings. I don’t care how tired Pujols was; he is the game’s best player, and also happened to be playing in front of his hometown fans in St. Louis. All-Star managers need to lose the Little League/intramural approach of “letting everybody play.” Does anyone, other than a few hometown fans, care if Hunter Pence or Jason Bartlett doesn’t get an at-bat? The game’s most popular superstars—like Pujols, Ichiro, and Derek Jeter—should be allowed to play all nine innings. After all, these are the players the fans voted to see.

On a related note, the National League needs to get over its pathological hatred of the DH. If there were ever a format designed for the designated hitter, it is the All-Star Game. The ability to use a DH on Tuesday night would have allowed Manuel to find more playing time for his three backup first basemen, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, and Ryan Howard, while keeping Pujols at first base for nine innings.

There were no major baserunning blunders in Tuesday night’s game. That’s a far cry from your typical regular season game, where baserunners typically make two to three obvious mistakes per night. Hey, these guys are all-stars for good reason; they know how to run the bases properly. Hopefully, a few players watching at home took note. {/exp:list_maker}

All in all, the All-Star Game provided more than adequate entertainment for a Tuesday night in the middle of the summer. The game could still use some improvement—for one, I’d like the players to cut out the yucks and the giggling, and at least act like something serious is at stake—but its death knell has been largely overplayed. When it comes to staging the All-Star Game, the major leagues are still light years ahead of anything the NFL and the NBA has to offer.