Snyder’s Soapbox: Why MLB has the best All-Star Game experience in professional sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — Hello friends, I’m excited to get started here, but first, remember, we need to let the newcomers what this column is all about.
Welcome to Snyder’s Soapbox! Here, I pontificate about matters related to Major League Baseball on a weekly basis. Some of the topics will be pressing matters, some might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and most will be somewhere in between. The good thing about this website is that it’s free, and you are allowed to click away. If you stay, you’ll get smarter, though. That’s a money-back guarantee. Let’s get to it.
Sometimes the rant can be positive and that’s where we are this week. I’m in Texas covering my 12th All-Star Game and I’m beyond ecstatic to do so. You know how people like to say Major League Baseball is terrible at marketing its players? I’m sure there are examples where it was correct, but I actually think the league does a great job in propping up stars, especially young ones at the big-league level.
And Paul Skenes is starting the All-Star Game. Can’t do better than that, right? The trickle-down effect is massive. He’s a national star right now and a lot of people are going to see his stuff for the first time Tuesday while he faces an AL lineup that includes Steven Kwan, Gunnar Henderson, Juan Soto and hopefully either someone reaches or he goes two innings, because Aaron Judge sits in the cleanup spot.
You can’t market a star much better than showcasing Skenes like this.
The game as a whole is always a fun one where nearly every player gets in and it’s often competitive. Just to name two examples from other major professional sports, let’s talk about the NBA and NFL here. The NBA All-Star Game has become such a defense-free shootout that it’s laughable. The NFL Pro Bowl has never really gained traction as a must-watch event other than the fact that so many people will watch anything related to football. MLB’s All-Star Game is far better.
Having the All-Star Game determine home-field advantage in the World Series was always dumb; a ridiculous attempt by Bud Selig to save face after ending the Milwaukee All-Star Game in a tie while shrugging at both managers. That stipulation is now gone and we’re left to simply enjoy the product. I still remember the All-Star Game from when I was a kid and it was destination viewing.
For baseball-loving youngsters, they’ll get the same opportunity in a game this season with so many new faces. There are 37 first-time All-Stars this season. And while there are some veterans finally getting their first taste, such as Jurickson Profar and Seth Lugo, that stat more speaks to the amount of excellent young talent in the league right now. Bryce Harper, now a grizzled All-Star Game veteran, spoke glowingly about the state of the game right now multiple times on Monday.