Well, That Was Dumb

Baseball is nothing if not dumb at times, like last night’s All-Star Game in Atlanta. It’s hard for me to say which I disliked more, the automatic-balls-and-strikes system (ABS) or the tie-breaker format. The idea behind ABS is to get calls right. OK, but do you want a game decided by a pitch the system calls not so much “in” the strike zone as “on” the line? That’s pretty much what happened in the top of the ninth, after the American League had tied the game at six with two runs in and the go-ahead run at second base, two outs. Randy Arozarena took a called ball that the NL appealed and the ABS determined was a borderline strike. End of rally. The NL couldn’t do anything in the bottom of the ninth, so it was time for the tie-breaker, used for the first time ever in an All-Star Game. Each side picks three players, each of whom gets three soft-toss pitches to hit; team with the most homeruns wins. To which I can only say, where was Aaron Judge for the AL? Most likely showered and long gone from the park after being lifted for Arozarena in the bottom of the fifth. Lucky for the NL Kyle Schwarber was still around to jack three balls into the stands. Four homers for the NL, three for the AL. NL wins. The Yankees’ Aaron Boone managed the AL. Boone obviously didn’t consider the possibility of a tie or, if he did, wasn’t able to prevail on Judge or any of the other AL starting players to hang around. I can see why Yankees’ fans might not be in love with Boone as their manager.