I’ve done a 180 on the All-Star game

When I was a kid I loved the All-Star game. I bought into that whole concept of seeing the best players on Earth play in the game. I kept score of the game, taped it on my VCR (no TiVo or DVR back then, folks) and had a copy of each team’s roster from the newspaper in front of me at all times (back before I discovered the greatness of the Internets).

I not only watched the game closely to see the best players play, but couldn’t wait until my team’s All-Star got in the game. There was one year where Troy Percival didn’t get into the game and I was devastated.

That all changed with the tie game.

It took the tie for me to realize that the players didn’t really care, that the commissioner didn’t care, that no one who mattered really cared.

Since then, I approach the MLB All-Star game as a giant yawn. I don’t buy any of the “This time it counts” BS. The managers still sub in players like crazy. What happen if this year’s game goes 14 innings? I’m sure they’ll run out of pitchers by then.

My apathy of the Midsummer Classic has spread to my favorite team. It’s sad that now I hope that Angels’ players don’t get chosen. I’d rather they get to take a vacation, relax, get their minds off baseball, and avoid the small injury risk that playing in the All-Star Game gives you. I’m horrified that Vladimir Guerrero is competing in the Home Run Derby, seeing winners of years past go into slumps afterwards.

While Angels fans were trying to vote Kelvim Escobar in, I was trying to vote him out.

It’s sad that this is what it has come to.