Why the 2020 MLB all-star game could be greatest ever
The 2020 MLB All-Star Game could go down as one of the greatest in baseball history.
Once: that’s the number of times the MLB All-Star Game has been scratched.
One time, since the Midsummer Classic’s inception in 1933, has it not been played. That was in 1945, with WWII and mandated travel restrictions being the reason. More to the point, even during the strike-shortened seasons- 1981,1994, 1995- they got this game in.
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The way things are going, that streak is showing every sign of coming to an end in 2020. Owners and players continue to lock horns, each side working on their own misguided endgame that is looking more and more like it could result in little to no baseball being played this season.
However, that’s a subject for another time.
A subject for, well frankly for almost every article out there being written about MLB right now. Hopefully, you peeked at my own in the above link. ESPN’s Jeff Passan boils down the financials with depressing austerity here.
For this piece though, let’s pretend while we still can that the 2020 MLB season will be played in some form. And more importantly for this topic, played in some form that isn’t completely compulsory either. A season where some goodwill still exists between players and the league.
Because the result of all that…could be the greatest MLB All-Star Game of all-time.
The MLB All-Star Game is truly unique among its contemporaries. The NFL Pro Bowl is pointless, generally providing fans nothing but the opportunity to imagine what it would look like if you sent professional football players to summer camp.
The NBA All-Star Game? Rookie-mode on NBA 2K has more defense- it’s a shootaround.
The NHL ASG? I have honestly never watched it, which is really their whole problem.
The MLB version is not without flaws either, of course. Fan voting is imperfect, often rewarding big market stars over smaller market ones having better seasons.
The concept of every team needing a representative? A baseball debate as iconic as the virtues of having a designated hitter.
But it’s still far-and-away the most compelling ASG on the landscape, whether it “counts” or not. The following are a few reasons why 2020 could be such a special year for the Midsummer Classic.