It’s just unbelievable that Bud Selig cancelled the All Star Game in the 11th inning last night. The 1987 All Star Game went to 13 innings. Surely these steroid-juiced 2002 players could go an extra couple innings.
ESPN.Com’s Jim Caple writes of the debacle,
Fans in Milwaukee threw garbage on the field and chanted “Let them play,” as if it were “The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training” instead of the All-Star Game. That was fitting, too. After all, the managers treated the game as if it were a Little League game, making sure everyone got into the game so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings.
And it was also fitting that no one listened or cared what the fans think. Hey, we have planes to catch, people.
For a night when baseball honored Ted Williams (interesting how time will transform you from a mean SOB into a revered icon — there’s hope for Barry Bonds), MLB doesn’t seem to understand Williams ethos at all,
You know why the 1941 game Ted Williams won with his homer is so treasured? Because winning was paramount. Not only did Ted play the entire game, so did Joe DiMaggio. Each team used just four pitchers each. You know why we cared so much about the 1970 game that ended in 12 innings? Because Pete Rose cared so much. Because after replacing Hank Aaron midway through the game, he stayed around long enough to crash into Ray Fosse instead of showering and leaving after one at-bat.
It doesn’t work that way anymore. That’s why interest in the game keeps declining. That’s why Tuesday’s catastrophe took place. The disaster hit Tuesday, but this has been building for a long time. People will say this was the last thing baseball needed, but this ending was what the All-Star Game needed most.
What if they hold a strike and nobody cares?