MLB All-Star Game 2011: Five Ways to Fix the All-Star Game

Though tens of millions of fans attend games every year, one has to remember that professional sports are a business. 

Sure, we hear owners talk about how "this is for the fans." and we all love those fan appreciation days, but no matter if it's a big signing the fans demanded, or a bobblehead night, owners, franchises and leagues care about profits and reputations.

That's why MLB commissioner Bud Selig must be sitting in a room somewhere with a large headache because as we prepared to watch this All Star game, almost none of the talk was about the game itself.

Instead, the radio waves, blogs and newspaper columns have been filled about what's wrong with the event, and complaints about players refusing to participate. Though the game continues to inexplicably determine which league earns home field advantage, it is now being played by several second- or third-string "All Stars". 

Perhaps you could excuse Selig and Major League Baseball for overreacting to a controversial 2002 All Star game, that ended in a tie.  It was an embarrassing moment for the league and to compensate for it, they came up with the idea to make the game count. 

The problem for Selig is that no one likes the idea.  Not owners, not players, not the media and most importantly, not baseball fans. 

While every other professional league rewards home field advantage to the team with the best overall record, baseball decides it on who wins an exhibition game that has rules such as every team having at least one player on the All Star roster and unofficial rules such as having as many players get on the field as possible.

The hatred of this idea can be seen in its ratings which have taken a nose dive with 2010 marking a 12 percent from 2009.  With so many marquee names missing this year, one has to assume those numbers will continue to go down.

With so many people against the idea and players seeming to care less about the game, something has to be done to save what was once considered the best All-Star event in sports.  The question is what can be done to regain player and fan interest? 

Here are five potential solutions. 

1) Get Rid of the Home-Field Rule

Before we got to any real solutions, this is an absolute no-brainer.  Scrap the idea, Bud Selig.  Admit the idea didn't work and move forward.  Everyone will be happy to hear it, so your pride should really not be that damaged.

It's really bizarre how Major League Baseball has never awarded home-field advantage for on-field success.  Prior to having the All Star game determine it, home field was merely swapped between leagues each year.

To give you an example in 2011 terms, that would mean the Yankees or Red Sox would possibly have to travel to Milwaukee for the World Series, even though they might have won 20 more games than the Brewers.  

Sounds as unfair and frankly dim-witted as the current reward system we see today, no?

Just give home field to whoever has the best record.  It's simple and effective, and most of all, fair. 

2) Bring in Bigger Celebrities

If there is one thing that the American society loves, it's celebrities.  There are countless television shows, magazines, blogs and websites that focus purely on the happenings of celebrities all over the world. 

It might be what Charlie Sheen is doing, or who is marrying who or how the royal couple is in Hollywood; Americans by and large eat it up.

The NFL features prime time musical acts at the Super Bowl.   If baseball wants to bring in additional viewers, start to feature more celebrities and truly make the game an event.  Sure, having some celebrity softball game is nice, but that isn't seen by most people. 

Make this game the exhibition as it is.  Having a few musical acts before, during and after the game isn't going to hurt anyone.  

Fox could even do their part to advertise their fall television lineup during the game and have the Simon Cowell's and Gordon Ramsey's preview their shows in some fashion with a few players in the dugout. 

Is all of this cheesy?  Sure.   But in the end, there are a fair share of fans who will eat it up who may not even care about baseball.  

3) Kiss Guaranteed All-Star Bonus Clauses Goodbye

With a number of players citing personal reasons as a way to avoid participating in the All Star Game, I believe they've opened the door to reform future contracts that players sign.

You will surely see this in every professional sport, when players, especially superstars, get bonuses in their contracts for certain achievements.  A very popular one is getting a bonus for being selected to the All-Star team. 

This has all been well and good, but lately, it seems the players are abusing this contractual bonus.  NFL players have been doing it for years now, choosing to not go to the Pro Bowl for a whole number of reasons, many of which having nothing to do with health.

For the first time, you really started to see that with baseball players.  From players citing family vacations, to Derek Jeter's lame excuse of "physical and emotional exhaustion," you literally had some starters tonight being third-tier selections (i.e. Scott Rolen). 

Now let's understand not every player gets a bonus like this.  At the same time though, they're not uncommon for the baseball elite.  After what we've seen this year, though, Major League Baseball needs to do its best to make sure voluntarily skipping the game will have consequences. 

The best way to do that is in their wallet.  Baseball owners would be wise in the future to have a contingency in this bonus clause, that if an All-Star player chooses to not attend the game, he will forfeit that bonus.

Perhaps then, Derek Jeter will find the strength within himself to board a private jet and manage to attend the 2012 All Star Game. 

4) Have a "Fantasy Draft"

Sometimes you have to look to other leagues to see fun ways to improve your product.

The NHL is hardly a league to look towards for smart business decisions.   However, the league decided to overhaul its All Star Game last year and radically changed the format of how its teams were selected. 

Instead of having the two conferences play each other, or have North America take on the world, another format the league tried in the past decade, they went with a brand new route. 

Seeing how fantasy sports has developed into an obsession in the sports world, the NHL decided to embrace the fantasy culture with their All Star event.  Hockey fans selected six players, while the NHL selected the remaining 36, which on the surface, looked very similar to what other leagues do.

However, this is where the fun began.

The 42 players voted on who would be the two captains of the team, in this case Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes.   These two players then picked two assistant captains of their own.

Instead of West vs. East, you had Lidstrom vs. Staal.  Several days before the All-Star game, the two men and their assistants took part in a Fantasy Draft that was aired on national television, allowing viewers to get a glimpse of athletes doing what so many sports fanatics do on their computers.

What resulted was increased ratings and renewed interest in the game.

Major League Baseball should follow their lead.

Instead of deciding who gets home field advantage, embrace the nature of the fact this is an exhibition game.  Not only could the MLB get new interest in the game, they could get more ratings for their Home Run Derby.

Try to imagine that in 2012, the All Star players select Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter as team captains.   You would then have Pujols and Jeter drafting who would be on their teams.  Imagine a 3-4-5 order of Pujols, Adrian Gonzales and Robinson Cano next year.

It would be a new and creative way to get fans into the game and would give viewers another reason to watch the Home Run Derby.  Seems like a win-win situation for to me. 

5) Find a New Way to Motivate Players to Participate

Again, sometimes it's best to see what works with other sports. 

You know what may very well be the most underrated All-Star event in sports?  The NASCAR All Star race. 

Now you may very well ask, why should we care about watching cars make 250 left turns and why on earth could that be the best All-Star event?  Let me tell you why.

The drivers in this race aren't out there for the fun of it like you see in the NFL, NHL and NBA, and there obviously isn't any home field advantage to be won like you see in baseball.

Instead, they are competing for some cold hard cash, $1 million to be exact. 

What transpires at Charlotte Motor Speedway each year is chaotic, often times controversial, but most of all exciting. 

Teammates who do their best during the year to help each other succeed are instead putting each other in walls during this race.  The video above is of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch going at it.

Loyalties go out the window for those several hours as each driver races for a victory, and one million George Washington bills.

One thing you can almost guarantee is you won't see a driver selected to be in this race decline to participate because of exhaustion, or some vacation he has planned with his family.  

Major League Baseball could take a valuable lesson from NASCAR in this case.  While we fans may not want to believe it, nothing motivates a professional athlete more than money. 

Find a sponsor who will be willing to pony up some money, and see how many players decline to attend an All Star game.   For example let's say Home Depot jumps in and creates the "2012 All Star Game Presented By Home Depot."

Home Depot could offer up $3 million to the winning team.  $2 million of that money will go to the winning team, so if you have a 30-person roster, that will amount to nearly $67,000 per player. 

The remaining $1 million can be donated to a charity of the winning team's choice. 

This scenario would be a great situation for Major League Baseball on so many levels.

-You will have players much more interested in participating in the game.

-Players will obviously put in more effort during the game as well.

-The MLB and its sponsor will create a lot great publicity when you see an organization getting a $1 million check.  

In Conclusion

I have always found All Star games fun, whether it's baseball, hockey, basketball, football or even auto racing.  The Pro Bowl though has been tough to get excited about lately though as half the players selected to participate refuse to go to Hawaii and take part in it.

It's been a big problem for the NFL, as the Pro Bowl ratings have plummeted over the years.

With baseball fans clearly rejecting the notion of having the All-Star Game count (ratings down 12 percent last year), the fact some of the game's best players chose to not attend the game is an even bigger problem that could grow into a much larger one if something is not done and fast. 

I have listed five ways I feel the game can be improved upon in the future.  I would love to hear any solutions you may have so this great event can once again regain its popularity amongst players and fans alike.