(Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)

Once upon a time, baseball’s All-Star Game was the gem of July. The best players from the National and American Leagues faced-off with bragging rights on the line.

Believe it or not, those rights mattered.

Now, the game’s luster is gone. Interleague play shows the best matchups. Albert Pujols vs. Zack Greinke. Yawn. It’s already happened this season. It probably will next.

It can’t only be blamed on Interleague play. The players don’t like exhibition games (And, yes, the All-Star Game is an exhibition even if Home Field advantage in the World Series is on the line.).

Just look at the revamped Baseball Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown. For the 69 seasons prior to this one, two Major League teams played an exhibition on Doubleday Field.

Now, it’s an Old Timer’s game.

Lately, it seems that most of the people who remember watching an All-Star Game could qualify to play in an Old Timer’s Game.

From 1976-1980, each All-Star Game had over 30 million viewers. The 2008 game had 14.5 million. The worrisome thing for baseball is that a 2008 Monday Night Football game, one of 17 that year, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins had 14.2 million viewers.

More reasons could be cited as the reason the All-Star Game has gone flat. However, a better use of time is finding a way to fix it.

The answer is something that the MLB has seen before.

Baseball must summon the spirit of Bill Veeck.

Veeck was an eccentric owner of several baseball teams and a master of the gimmick. In one of his most famous stunts, he hired Eddie Gaedel, a midget, to bat in the second game of a doubleheader. In my All-Star Game there will be no midgets (unless of course they are voted in), but there sure will be gimmicks.

People’s interest in the game must be refreshed each year. This means so do the gimmicks. The fans want to see the new and exciting.

Here are some ideas:

Major League Baseball would love to prove that the new clean game has replaced the old, PED-filled version. So, forget NL vs. AL. It’s young vs. old. The All-Star Game could have a team of under 30 year-old's slug it out against their elders.

This would reward players, like Ken Griffey Jr., who have had long, distinguished careers but no longer put up the statistics.

Just imagine Grady Sizemore on one side and Griffey on the other. Get creative. The elder statesman play in throwback uniforms and the young players sport futuristic garb.

The next year could be a throwback to one of Veeck’s most famous promotions, Grandstand Manager’s Day. In Veeck’s promotion, the fans were given Yes/No placards and voted on the game’s strategy.

The All-Star Game could implement a similar strategy on a global scale with text messaging and online voting. At certain points in the game, baseball would take a small break, say one or two minutes, and allow fans to vote for a certain scenario.

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