Bryce Harper has thoughts about the All-Star Game

[canderson]

Mr. NatsTown has an idea to switch up the ASG.

“It’d be great if let’s say the two leading vote-getters by the fans did a draft system and could pick from both sides,” Harper said Monday. “So I could be facing Max Scherzer today — I mean, nobody sees that. It would be a lot of fun to do something like that to make it a little more competition to face somebody on your team, like if Kershaw was facing Justin Turner, or Chris Sale facing Mookie Betts. That’d be a lot of fun.”

http://deadspin.com/bryce-harper-has-an-idea-to-spice-up-the-all-star-game-1796805855

This is insane had never happens, but it's an interesting idea. Any others out there you'd like to see?

I think the Home Run Derby should be current players vs retired players (or split squads). Who wouldn't want to watch Papi or Thome or whoever get a few cuts?

 

[DJnVa]

Some of the other sports tried this didn't they?

For the day before festivities:

• HR Derby by players with fewer than 5 HRs, or under 6'
• Actual skills competition: speed, throwing (distance and accuracy), hitting skills
• HR Derby with aluminum bats
• HR Derby scoring is by distance not number

 

[Ale Xander]

I would like to players picked solely to pinch run once or be a designated fielder (late inning defensive replacement)

And allow all players to be eligible to come back in should the game go to an 11th inning.

 

[Ale Xander]

Some of the other sports tried this didn't they?

For the day before festivities:

• HR Derby by players with fewer than 5 HRs, or under 6'
• Actual skills competition: speed, throwing (distance and accuracy), hitting skills
• HR Derby with aluminum bats
• HR Derby scoring is by distance not number

I like this.

" Horsheshoes "at 2nd base and home for OFs

Fastest to first

Bunt for the 1st or 3rd base bag (to hit it)

 

[Ale Xander]

Maybe a steal a HR challenge for OFs too

 

[Ed Hillel]

They should make it so the winning league's World Series rep gets home field. Boom, easy way to make fans care.

 

[canderson]

Some of the other sports tried this didn't they?

For the day before festivities:

• HR Derby by players with fewer than 5 HRs, or under 6'
• Actual skills competition: speed, throwing (distance and accuracy), hitting skills
• HR Derby with aluminum bats
• HR Derby scoring is by distance not number

I love the idea of a skills competition. Might be a slog to watch on tv for most.

 

[soxfan121]

Some of the other sports tried this didn't they?

Indeed. The NHL had two captains pick teams, and turned the "draft" into a TV event. And then this happened:


And the NHL realized that making one of their "stars" endure the indignity of being picked last, on international TV, was a bad idea.

Therefore, while Mr. Harper has a point - it would be cool to see him face Scherzer - this has zero chance of actually happening.

 

[Ale Xander]

But if you have them pick some of the reserves if not all, you take the indignity out of it. Kessel/NHL was bad because you knew who made the team already

 

[DJnVa]

I love the idea of a skills competition. Might be a slog to watch on tv for most.

Then you broadcast the final part of it--hitting for distance--live. The rest the show highlights .

 

[Van Everyman]

Indeed. The NHL had two captains pick teams, and turned the "draft" into a TV event. And then this happened:


And the NHL realized that making one of their "stars" endure the indignity of being picked last, on international TV, was a bad idea.

Therefore, while Mr. Harper has a point - it would be cool to see him face Scherzer - this has zero chance of actually happening.

Wait, why was that so embarrassing? They gave him a car and $20K to give to his favorite charity and Kessell seemed like a pretty good sport about the whole thing. How was that some disaster? Seems like they were prepared for it.

Anyway, didn't, like, Cris Carter and Michael Irvin do this a few years ago w the shittiest of all All Star Games, the Pro Bowl?

 

[Bergs]

They should make it so the winning league's World Series rep gets home field. Boom, easy way to make fans care.

This is brilliant!

 

[soxfan121]

Wait, why was that so embarrassing? They gave him a car and $20K to give to his favorite charity and Kessell seemed like a pretty good sport about the whole thing. How was that some disaster? Seems like they were prepared for it.

Anyway, didn't, like, Cris Carter and Michael Irvin do this a few years ago w the shittiest of all All Star Games, the Pro Bowl?

Being picked last is, inherently, embarrassing. Perhaps you missed out on the experience personally but whether you're 9 or 29, it sucks to sit there waiting to hear your name called. Yeah, Kessel handled it as well as he could, but for a guy who is making millions of dollars a year, a shitty car and a 20K charity donation is literal chump change. And fans had some fun at Phil's expense, both that evening and into the future. The NHL wisely realized that subjecting a "star" player to that was unnecessary and mostly stupid.

Let's imagine that next year MLB does the "captains pick teams" thing. And let's imagine how we who populate this board would react if Mookie Betts were sitting there for an hour, waiting to be picked, while Twitter makes fun of him, and the announcers talk about how it's gotta be lonely and sorta humiliating to be picked last for anything. It's a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[kenneycb]

Except your point is a crock of shit because they did it for the next two All Star Games (2012 and 2015 - gap due to lockout and Olympics) following Kessel's great embarrassment.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Could also do the draft beforehand and just randomize the order so nobody knows who's picked where.

 

[NDame616]

Go position by position

You pick RF
I pick RF
You pick C.F.
I pick C.F.
You pick a SP
I pick a SP

 

[kenneycb]

Or you just treat them like well paid adults and assume that Brad Hand or whatever token representative from a crappy team can handle being taken last.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Too bad Papelbon isn't still on the Nats and could have faced Harper.

A Skills Competition would be a great addition.

I think I'll start a thread