2012 All-Star Game review

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I know this is a “comic book/pop culture blog” and I don’t do this much, but please allow me to discuss some sports today.  I love baseball!  It is definitely my favorite sport.  Yesterday the All-Star game between the American League and National League was played.  The All-Star game is far better than the similar games in other major sports. In fact, I’d say it is the only game of its ilk that is a true showcase wherein the players try their hardest and the outcome is genuine.  Every pitcher wants to get every batter out, and all the batters want to get that elusive All-Star game big hit!  There are many stories of great All-Star games of the past and every year seems to have something new accomplished.  I also love to see the interaction between the older players who have made multiple trips to this game and the first-timers, who are trying to savor what may be their only chance to play in this game.  The All-Star game is known as the mid-summer’s classic, and it is a nickname well deserved!

This year’s game featured the NL winning for the third consecutive year, this time by a large margin.  My favorite team, the Cincinnati Reds, was represented by 3 players, none of whom got a hit, but all played well defensively including Jay Bruce who caught the final out of the game!

The only problem with the game this year was the lack of competitiveness because of the NL’s huge lead that was held throughout the game.  I was brainstorming some ideas to make the game a little more competitive next year, rather than see my NL just walk away with it again.  Perhaps one of these ideas would give the AL a chance:

1)      The AL gets an extra player, like they use in softball

2)      The AL starts each inning with a runner on second base

3)      All the NL batters must bat left handed

Just some ideas I thought might be worth considering!

Okay, I’ll stop rubbing it in and prepare for the second half of the season.  My Reds are only a game back of the Pirates currently and first in the wild-card standings.  Hope I can find something to do while I wait for their next game to start Friday