Once again, the MLB All-Star game will determine who gets the home field advantage in the World Series, which I think is a very bad idea. It’s a tough situation for Major League Baseball… you don’t want the All-Star game to be a glorified T-ball game, but at the same time… you’ve got fan votes, players from every team (no matter how devoid of talent), and managers who manage just to appease players, and all of this affects something very consequential.
“I’m still a believer that it shouldn’t count,” Paul Konerko said. “We play 162 games that count. That’s what should decide who gets home-field advantage.”
Concur. Home field advantage matters. It gives one team a substantial advantage over another, and that’s something that should be earned in competition… not handed out after an exhibition game that only has a vague relationship with actual competition. Even if the thing was managed with the intention of winning at all costs… it’s still just an exhibition game, one in addition to the other 162, and in now way represents anyone earning anything.
I think it’s a bad plan. If you want players to try, give the winning team $30,000 per player… and give the winning manager $100,000. For $100,000, a manager will surely be able to ignore the feelings of whatever non-deserving Kansas City Royal gets stuck on the roster. And if it’s absolutely necessary to get everyone playing time… extend the All-Star break to one full week, and play a three-game series.
Anyway, on a related note, here’s why home-field advantage matters: testosterone. A recent study by Canadian scientists figured out the exact advantage that comes with playing at home, and it turns out to be testosterone and cortisol.
A study of the behaviour of sports teams suggests that playing at home not only guarantees more support and the comfort of familiar surroundings, but it also has a biological effect on the way players perform.
A study of football and ice- hockey teams carried out by scientists in Canada has revealed that team members playing at home experience higher levels of testosterone, the male sex hormone, compared with those playing away. And the authors of the report suggest an evolutionary behavioural link — relating to the basic need to protect territory.
Levels of the stress hormone cortisol were also found to be raised at home — indicating pressure not felt when on the road — as were levels of self-confidence.
RyanBeingManny Says:
June 21st, 2006 at 2:55 am
Joke. What garuntee is there that the coach of an All-Star game is going to give a shit about the outcome of the game. Imagine if the Braves snuck through last year, way past their expiration date. Why would Bobby Cox care if the NL has the HVA? Its not like Acc or Big Ten Pride. With the trade deadline after the game, who says Cox coaches to win over a prospect vor aging vet trade possible. Not calling abyone dirty, I’m just saying BEST RECORD GETS THE ADVANTAGE IS FOOLPROOF.
unc_samurai Says:
June 21st, 2006 at 7:44 am
If MLB is going to require some sort of consequence out of this game, then they need to start by dropping the requirement that every team have a representative on the all-star squad. There’s no need for a Devil Ray or a Royal just because the team needs to be represented.
comic book guy Says:
June 21st, 2006 at 6:43 pm
I’m not a big fan of the All-Star Game being the deciding factor over who gets home field for the World Series, but everyone seems to think that it replaced a system where the team with the best record was rewarded with the home field advantage. Instead, the AL had it one year and the NL had it the next. Maybe they should just flip a coin.