MLB All-Star Game 2016: Why does it count?

The MLB All-Star Game will take place tonight from Petco Park in San Diego. Once an exhibition, here is why it counts now.

From 1933 until 2002, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played as an exhibition. Each league would send their best players to the Midsummer Classic, and the fans would get to enjoy seeing the greatest players in the game do battle.

Then came the 2002 MLB All-Star Game, played at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The game was played to a 7-7 tie, as the managers of each league ran out of pitchers. It was decided that if no team had a lead after 11 innings, the game would be called, and that is exactly what happened.

The fans attending the event were outraged, calling for commissioner Bud Selig’s head, and Major League Baseball knew they had a decision to make. Their decision was to award the winning league home-field advantage in the World Series.

It is a decision that is still questioned to this day.

Home-field advantage is huge in the playoffs, and there is no bigger series than the World Series. Since this new rule has been put in place, the home team has won over 57% of the time, giving them a distinct advantage in the series.

There has been 13 World Series since commissioner Selig put in this new rule, and winning the Midsummer Classic definitely does count. The winning league in the All-Star Game has gone 9-4 in the following World Series, which is probably the result the former-commissioner was hoping for when he made the rule.

Overall, the rule does not make much sense, as the players in the All-Star Game are a fraction of the players who end up playing in the World Series. The decision to give home-field advantage certianly makes  the game more competitive, and a win could mean a ring to those playing in October.

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