Falling back in love with baseball
Major League Baseball has been hit or miss for me these last couple of years.
I will always be a fan of the sport and of the game of baseball, but it seems like over the past seasons I have by no means been an avid or active fan.
I鈥檓 not sure if that has anything to do with the lack of success of the Pittsburgh Pirates have had over the last two seasons or their low payroll.
But let蘑菇视频 get back on track, this column is about MLB and not the Pirates (anyway most of you know this by now, I鈥檓 a Chicago Cubs fan).
As a kid, I always look forward to the All-Star Break and the spectacle that is the Mid-Summer Classic.
But just like my fan-hood, the last couple of All-Star Games I haven鈥檛 really cared about and I really had no interest in it whatsoever.
Last week while watching the home run derby on Monday and then the All-Star game itself on Tuesday, something change. I fell back in love with the sport of baseball.
Say what you will about the home run derby and how it蘑菇视频 nothing more than a glorified batting practice, and how there are just too many rules to follow in the derby.
But this year蘑菇视频 edition of the derby provided a lot of drama and introduced fans to some rising stars like the Dodgers鈥� Max Muncy, the Phillies鈥� Rhys Hoskins and the Cubs鈥� Javier Baez.
All of the excitement surrounded the Nationals鈥� Bryce Harper and if he could win the derby in his home park. There were some last-second heroics, but the slugger from DC accomplished the feat and won.
Say what you will about Harper, but I鈥檓 officially a fan of his. I love his passion and swagger he has on the field. He蘑菇视频 a true competitor and loves the game.
Moving onto the All-Star Game, there was even more drama in the air on Tuesday night as the American League outlasted the National League in 10 innings for an 8-6 victory.
I know the game doesn鈥檛 count, but I always enjoy watching the individual batters like pitcher Max Scherzer going against Mike Trout or pitcher Chis Sale dealing to Paul Goldschmidt.
If you liked strikeouts and home runs, then this game was for you. The teams combined for 25 strikeouts and 10 home runs.
I also enjoyed the way FOX televised the game and it was more interesting to see some players鈥� mic-ed up on the field and also those dugout interviews. A lot of people hate on Joe Buck, but I think he蘑菇视频 a very entertaining play-by-play man in the booth, and I also like the analysis from John Smoltz.
Baseball is in desperate need of young superstars that can carry the game in the right direction and also make the sport mainstream once again.
I think we are heading in the right direction, but they still need to continue to develop those stars.
As for the second half, things are looking to get more interested. Both the Cubs and the Pirates are red-hot and they will have a couple of critical series against each other in the next couple of weeks.
Most division races are still tight, and I think this year蘑菇视频 trading deadline should be very active.
I thought about writing a column about ways to improve the game, such as making the DH a staple for both leagues (yes this has to happen, most normal fans want to see a guy smack a ball 400 feet instead of a non-athletic pitcher try to drop a bunt).
Other ideas to help the game are maybe implement a pitch count rule or limit how many pitchers a team can use in nine-inning game. I would like to see fewer commercials during a game (but we all know someone has to make their money on those).
Maybe limit the ways teams use infield shifts during a game so that could open up the offenses and allow more hits for the game.
But at the end of the day, baseball is a simple game. You either love it, or you learn to deal with it.
Those rule changes might be nice, but let蘑菇视频 just enjoy the games and root for the best team in the league鈥nd of course I鈥檓 talking about the Cubs. Go Cubs go!