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This past Tuesday, July 11 to be specific and/or accurate, Major League Baseball hosted its annual All-Star Game in Seattle, Washington. That’s right below us! Also known as the “Midsummer Classic,” the festivities delivered all the usual fanfare and merriment baseball lovers have become accustomed to.
Like everything that is fun in life, many people love the all-star game and many people hate the all-star game. For those of us who love it, it provides an amusing and relaxed window into the top players' skills and personalities.
For those who hate it, it messes with the rhythm of the regular season and opens up the possibility of injuries during a game that is essentially meaningless.
If you were to know anything about me, you would likely know that I love essentially meaningless fanfare and spectacle. And dogs. And baseball. From the Home Run Derby to red carpet events to the game itself, I devour the MLB All-Star weekend. I think it’s good for the fans and good for baseball.
Believe it or not, (though, I don’t know why you wouldn’t believe me, as you likely have access to Google) The Northwest League used to have an All-Star Game itself, held as recently as 2019 in Boise, Idaho and hosted by the Boise Hawks (now playing in the Pioneer League).
That 2019 Baseball Jamboree sported the following lineup of festivities: The All-Star Game Gala; the All-Star Block Party, a free open-to-the-public concert; the All-Star FanFest, a meet and greet with events at Memorial Stadium; the All-Star Home Run Derby; and the All-Star Wrap Party.
What a whirlwind of stuff to do and see and experience! That sounds fun, doesn’t it?
Baseball is often accused of being a boring sport that is decidedly anti-fun. The average age of the fan base is significantly older than all the other major sports leagues in North America. That’s not a bad thing in the short term. But in the long term, it spells problems. For professional baseball to survive, it needs to attract younger fans. And the best way to do that, in my humble and severely uninformed opinion, is to embrace fun. At all levels of the game.
It’s time to bring back the Northwest League All-Star Game. The players in the NWL are elite athletes that deserve to be showcased and showered with accolades. For many, this is as far as they’ll go in professional baseball. But that is no small accomplishment by any measurement. Only handfuls of human beings who play baseball on this planet ever ascend to this level, and we should celebrate that accomplishment and the skills they’ve honed over a lifetime of work.
Plus, any all-star game worth its salt will include a home run derby. And even the stodgiest most old-school baseball fans among us must, at some level, deep down, love the long ball. A home run derby set against the backdrop that is Nat Bailey Stadium would be somewhere between euphoric and rapturous.
So where do you come down on all-star games? Are they harmless and exciting fun? Or are they useless and unnecessary distractions? Let me know! As always, you can find me at The Nat.
