AL will be home team for 2016 All-Star game in San Diego

As if there haven’t been enough head-scratching decisions made concerning MLB All-Star games — past, present and future — new commissioner Rob Manfred added one more on Friday. 

While officially announcing that Marlins Park in Miami will host the 2017 All-Star game, making it three consecutive National League cities, Manfred says MLB will continue alternating which league is considered the home team, regardless of the venue. That means the National League will bat last this season in Cincinnati after last season’s All-Star game was played in Minnesota, but the American League will bat last in 2016 despite playing in a National League city, San Diego.

His reasoning, courtesy of KFVS in Miami: 

“I have tremendous respect for the long tradition of alternating between American League and National League cities, but now that we use the designated hitter in all the All-Star Games, there’s really no competitive reason why we strictly have to follow that rule.”

That much is true, and considering the All-Star game will still determine which league hosts the World Series, it’s important to keep some semblance of competitive balance. Still, exactly what are we doing here?

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Instead of focusing on the biggest issue most fans (and players, and managers, and so on) have with the All-Star game, which is the aforementioned World Series prize that’s attached to it, Manfred is over thinking and overreaching just to protect that outdated and unnecessary stipulation.

Think about it, if you’re a Padres fan and you’re going to the 2016 All-Star game in your home city, a National League city, do you want to see the American League paraded as the home team? Or let’s just say a future All-Star game is at Wrigley Field in Chicago or Fenway Park in Boston, wouldn’t it be unnecessarily strange if the opposing league was considered the home team in those historic venues?

Granted, the world would keep turning and the game would survive just fine regardless, but it sounds and feels weird. Also, for casual viewers it might be confusing. Confusing isn’t a good look for a game that should be kept simple. 

Of course, all of this comes on the heels of Manfred saying he’d like to see multiple cities bid for the All-Star Game each year, much like cities bid on the Super Bowl. Who knows, that could even leave it open to cities outside the United States and Canada to make bids. Not too far, of course, because that would take some logistical maneuvering. And not that there are too many realistic options to begin with, but that might be in the back of someone’s mind.

Either way, the All-Star game seems on track to become more convoluted before it ever reverts to the exhibition game it used to be and needs to be.

Oh well, it could be worse. It could be the Pro Bowl. 

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813