With the MLB All-Star Break half over, and the immense hype about the home-run derby upon us, here are a few things I believe could improve MLB's All-Star Festivities.
- Extend the Festivities. Stuffing the All-Star Break into what amounts to nothing more than a long weekend is unnecessary. If the event was extended to encompass an entire week, with the addition of some new exciting challenges (see 2), it would give the players involved a better chance to recover from any All-Star event they participate in.
- Add other skills events. Sure, we all know that 'chicks dig the long-ball' and all that... but given a week to schedule events, the MLB could expand on the success of the All-Star Futures and Celebrity Softball games, and even on the Home-Run Derby with events like:
- Fastest Base-Stealer. End the debate once and for all and declare the league's fastest. Bring back Henderson?
- Outfielder Accuracy. Let's see who can throw frozen ropes through every target. Ichiro's event?
- AL v. NL Double-Play Challenge. This is the only questionable addition. Involving base runners could make this a dangerous event; but not including them sounds boring. Maybe only the player from the plate tries to beat it out at first... I'm sure there is a way for this event to work.
These are only a few ideas that could improve on the failing success of MLB's All-Star Events. All of which could draw attention away from the steroid-tainted spectacle that is the Home-Run Derby.
1 comment:
Great ideas! Skills competitions are awesome. The NHL's and NFL's typically get very good draws in comparison to the actual all star games. The MLB would benefit from similar competitions.
The HR Derby isn't much of a skills challenge, anyway. Hitting is more than just distance. It is cool to have a long ball competition but it is like having the QB longest throw event without the rest of the challenges. The MLB AllStar weekend is incomplete right now. Adding a pitching challenge, a few more hitting challenges, and a fielding challenge would make the break a lot more interesting to casual fans and give sports writers more to write about.Great ideas! Skills competitions are awesome. The NHL's and NFL's typically get very good draws in comparison to the actual all star games. The MLB would benefit from similar competitions.
The HR Derby isn't much of a skills challenge, anyway. Hitting is more than just distance. It is cool to have a long ball competition but it is like having the QB longest throw event without the rest of the challenges. The MLB AllStar weekend is incomplete right now. Adding a pitching challenge, a few more hitting challenges, and a fielding challenge would make the break a lot more interesting to casual fans and give sports writers more to write about.
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