Thursday, July 11, 2002
Home run derby would have made better ending
By John Fay jfay@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MILWAUKEE — Bud Selig probably got it right. But he still came out looking all wrong.
Baseball's commissioner made the right decision by declaring the 73rd All-Star Game a 7-7 tie after 11 innings. The reasons cited — no pitchers left, fear of injury — were legitimate. But baseball should have been able to avoid, or at least diffuse, the public relations nightmare.
For some reason, Selig and his brain trust waited until after the top of the 11th to huddle and make their decision.
Why wait? Every scribe in the press box knew by the eighth inning that teams were down to two pitchers. Each club had a closer who could go one inning and a starter who could go two innings. (Although Philadelphia manager Larry Bowa said Wednesday he had no problem with Vicente Padilla going three or four innings).
So why not huddle after the ninth and come up with a plan? And announce it.
For some reason, they waited until there was one out in the bottom of 11th to let the 41,000 fans in on the problem. By then, the decision had been made. When it was made public, the result was just what you'd expect: outrage, boos and chants of “Bud sucks!”
To Milwaukee's credit, other than throwing a little debris on the field, it didn't get out of hand. In a lot of places — New York and Philly certainly; Chicago perhaps — a riot would have followed the announcement.
You almost felt sorry for beleaguered Bud. Here he was, in his hometown, watching helplessly as a beautiful night for baseball ended ugly.
“The decision was made because there were no players left, no pitchers left,” Selig said. “This is not the ending I hoped for. I was in a no-win situation.”
That seems to be a perpetual state for the commissioner. Isn't that the case with the labor dispute, steroids and contraction?
But Tuesday night, all that was forgotten for four hours or so. The pregame ceremony mixed dazzle and emotion. The weather was perfect. The game was exciting. Torii Hunter's play in the second inning, going over the wall to rob Barry Bonds of a home run, was one of the greatest in All-Star history. The game went back and forth with lots of action from both sides.
“It was a great game,” said Milwaukee shortstop Jose Hernandez. “Barry Bonds hit the home run. To rii Hunter's play. Jose Vidro made a great play.”
He's right. It had everything ... but an ending.
A lot of scenarios to bring the game to a conclusion were discussed: letting a position player pitch; letting a pitcher re-enter the game; a home run derby to determine the winner.
The first two were quickly dismissed because of the injury factor, although Reds representative Adam Dunn would have been glad to throw an inning.
“Hell, yeah,” he said. “I don't think the Reds would have liked it too much.”
Having a pitcher return seems like a simple solution. But most of the pitchers on the rosters were closers. They aren't used to throwing more than one inning a day. And starters are used to getting long warm-up sessions.
The home run derby idea would have satisfied fans. Bring out a batting-practice pitcher and let five players on each side have one swing. Keep going until someone hits one out.
It would have been goofy. But it would have been exciting. And the fans would have gone home happy. Or at least less unhappy.
“The thing would have become even a worse farce if we went with some bizarre-type of option,” Selig said.
Sometimes, Bud, bizarre beats a blank.
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Home run derby would have made better ending
