Well, that was….a game.

I really have to wonder who MLB is expecting to buy the special All Star Game uniforms. Sure, there are some fans in the stands wearing them, but will they be on sale next month in the team stores afterwards? I’ve railed before about how it makes it nearly impossible to identify the players on the field. I would also like to note that in the time-filling promotional spots where they have players in an “airport” and “coffee shop”, they are wearing their actual team uniforms. It’s clearly important for a promotional aspect, so why are there totally new and different uniforms for the game?

I gather that at least some players are OK with them – but you’ll always find good employees who will say they like whatever they are told to like. And it’s not like it’s impossible to tweak the regular uniforms into special All Star versions. One could, for example, keep the regular uniform but simply replace the team / city name on the front with “American” or “National”. At the very simplest, put stars at the sides of the number on the back of the uniform.

In addition to figuring out who they are trying to reach with these uniforms, MLB needs to think about what they are trying to promote with the All Star Game itself – the sport or the players. So much of the pre-game stuff is about the players – and then they blow it by putting them in these bland things that serve only to conceal the player’s identities?

You also miss out on cool moments like the top of the second inning, when the Texas Rangers had six – SIX! – players on the field at the same time: Catcher Jonah Heim, second baseman Marcus Semien, shortstop Corey Seager, third baseman Josh Jung, right fielder Adolis Garcia, and pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. There’s a reason the Rangers are in first place in the AL West….

I did like the way they introduced the players – coming out from a gate in the outfield, with a red carpet and all. But again, it was REALLY hard to tell who the players were. Some captions would have been VERY helpful….. A tip of the cap (a proper blue Dodgers one, that is) to Clayton Kershaw for showing up for the intros, even if he wasn’t going to play due to injury. As two of the biggest names and superstars in the sport, Mike Trout and Aaron Judge should have been there, too. No one is expecting you to get in the game; you can at least take part in the festivities.

Good on FOX for showing the First Pitch – something they haven’t done in a long time.

https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1678924356536369152

Now, we all understand that not every game is going to be a thrill-a-pitch from the first inning. It takes time for a baseball game to develop. But when the most exciting things in the first couple of innings get overturned on replay review, well…. It’s an exhibition game, people. Cut them some slack on the basepaths! Let the stolen bases happen!

Later in the game, when the tension was starting to build, that’s when you focus on the action on the field. I, for one, do NOT want to see David Ortiz eating popcorn with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. If there’s not much happening in the game, FIND SOMETHING to MAKE it interesting for the viewers. Heck, a discussion of “barrel rate” and “launch angle” would have been more interesting!

As far as the National League winning the game for the first time in years, it should not be that big a deal. It’s an exhibition game, after all, and you’re dealing with a very small sample size. Luck is playing too great a role in the individual outcomes.