Next week is when baseball’s annual All Star Game is played. Major League Baseball tries to make a week-long festival out of it, but for some reason they schedule the game itself on Tuesday night, which means all the pre-game stuff gets compressed into two days, while there are two days after the game when there’s absolutely nothing going on.

That seems rather inefficient to me. I know the players want and deserve a couple of days off, but there should be a better way to do it.

Like moving the All Star Game to Wednesday.

Here’s what that would allow:

Sunday afternoon: Last games before the break. Baseball on a summer Sunday afternoon; perfect for families. And with an extra day before the ASG, there will hopefully be less of that whining about “Oh, I pitched on Sunday, I’m too tired to pitch one inning in the ASG, so I won’t even bother showing up.”

Sunday night: The “Futures” Game. A nice prime-time showcase of up and coming talent.

Monday afternoon: Kept free just in case there are any games from the first half of the season that need to be made up, and cannot be scheduled at any other time. I really doubt that this would be necessary, but just in case… And there’s enough of a window before and after it so the teams can travel.

Monday night: Anyone else remember “Old Timers” Games? They actually did have these as part of All Star Week for a while. I’d suggest an “All Star Alumni Charity Softball Game”. Partly because I’m older than some of the players who’d be appearing…. Set up softball teams – American League vs. National League – of recently retired stars. Like those on the Hall of Fame ballot. A fun. low-pressure softball game, where proceeds go to MLB approved charities. And the sponsors can add to the fun with things like “We’ll donate $10,000 for every base hit” in the game. Give fans a chance to see the new group of Hall of Famers on the field again (even if they’re not really playing much).

Tuesday afternoon: Media Day. Interviews, press conferences, photo ops, fan meet & greets, etc.

Tuesday night: Home Run Derby

Wednesday afternoon: Any parades or other festivities, if wanted.

Wednesday night: The All Star Game

Thursday: Nothing. Everyone rest.

Friday night: The regular season resumes.

I suspect that if there’s a reason to have the game on Tuesday (other than “That’s the way we’ve always done it”), it’s so players can get (at least) two straight off-days (Wednesday and Thursday) before they have to worry about playing again. That’s entirely understandable.

But I still like my idea.