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July 12, 2005All-Star Game officials need to face realityByLocal columnist The marketing genius who came up with FOX's All-Star sales line, "This One Counts," couldn't have been more wrong. Dollars. That's what counts this week. The game? It's an afterthought. The All-Star Game earned the nickname Midsummer Classic during its heyday because the event included the best players - the BEST players - squaring off and playing for the pride of their leagues. Most of them played for the same team and the same league their entire career. The All-Star game was their only opportunity, other than the World Series, to face each other. So it meant something - and they performed like it did. The last time Detroit saw an All-Star Game in 1971, a whopping 23 future Hall of Famers were at Tiger Stadium, and six of them clubbed home runs. The most memorable of all was Reggie Jackson's moon shot off the right field light tower. The game was the show. Now it just happens to be the final event on the final night of a week of parties and celebrity softball games and red carpet ceremonies and shopping for $25 caps and $125 jerseys. The fact that home field advantage for the World Series is determined by the winner of the All-Star Game is a joke. Instead of adding to the game, it puts more focus on the absurd rule that every major league team must be represented. If so much is riding on the All-Star Game, shouldn't the very best players be deciding who wins? Major League Baseball wants every team represented so more people will watch on television. And placing home field advantage on the line puts artificial importance on it. That's good for the advertisers and good for the network and makes broadcast rights more lucrative. But let me ask you - if you're a Tigers fan, did you watch the 1999 All-Star Game to see Brad Ausmus play in it? Or Todd Jones in 2000? Or Robert Fick in 2002? Do you watch now because it decides home field advantage in the World Series? No, you watch because you want to see the game's best - BEST - players. Right? Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz, who grew up in Detroit and played in the organization before being dealt away in the infamous trade for Doyle Alexander in 1987, agrees. "Eighty percent of the guys who play in the All-Star Game will never play in a playoff game, but they're affecting the 20 percent of the guys who will. That's wrong," Smoltz said Monday. "The team with the best record deserves home field advantange. You don't think that helped San Antonio (win the NBA championship)? "I've never been a big fan of gimmicks to sell tickets," he said. "The game itself will take care of that." Now, don't get me wrong, all the added attractions at the All-Star Game are great. FanFest is fabulous - a buffet of fun for the baseball nut. Sunday's Futures Game and the Legends and Celebrities Softball Game that followed were entertaining. And Monday night's Home Run Derby, especially Bobby Abreu's barrage in the first round, was awesome. But Major League Baseball needs to decide if the game is actually The Game. It's time to dump the borderline selections. It's time to put home field advantage in the World Series back where it belongs - in the hands of the teams and players that have a chance to get there. If MLB truly believes "This One Counts," then only the best - BEST - players should be playing in it.
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