The Cleveland Indians Should Host the Next All-Star Game

Oct 29, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; San Francisco Giants players celebrate on the field after defeating the Kansas City Royals during game seven of the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Should It Matter Which League Hosts the Game?

At the end of the day, does the host team really matter in an All-Star game?  One could easily argue that switching the game back and forth between leagues is irrelevant.  Baseball has changed the All-Star game rules so now the designated hitter is used no matter which league hosts the game. The American League also has had so much success of late that one could argue having “home-field” in this game doesn’t really matter much.

That said, I still believe that if you want the game to “matter” and decide home-field in the World Series that each league should get an equal shot at hosting the game.  You can’t sell fans on the idea that hosting Game 7 of the World Series and having last at-bats is important while at the same time seemingly belittling how important it is to have home-field and last at-bats in the game that decides such an “important” reward.  If baseball really wants to move away from alternating leagues here, they should take my advice and stop making the game decide home-field advantage. 

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