I thought I voted for the Rangers!

National League versus American League

The All Star Game is the  midway point of the baseball season. By this point each league pretty well knows the teams that will most likely see action in October.

Since 1933 baseball fans have been able to vote for their favorite players. This is our opportunity to see our dream team each season. The ballot has pre-selected players divided up by their league. Each league is made up of fifteen teams, divided into three divisions: East, Central, West. Each division has five teams.

Beginning with the 2003 season, the All Star game became important for home field advantage. The reason for this is that in 2002 All Star Game for the first time ever the game ended in a tie. The game went into the 11th inning. Managers for both teams were out of options for pitchers. They agreed to end the game in a tie in lieu of working someone longer than he was intended to be used. The backlash by the fans was overwhelming.

So, beginning in 2003, the team that won the All Star Game received home field advantage during the world series. This rule has changed the way the All Star Game is now played. Each player and manager now have a stake in it. This is no longer just a wasted game for the fans only.

Fans no longer simply vote for their favorite players, they now look at who they think will actually make a difference in the game. Players no longer treat it as a little league game and put out little effort, they play as if they are playing the 7th game of the world series. Managers no longer simply try to get every man in the game, they manage the game as though it is the most important game of the season.

"The only bad thing about winning the pennant is that you have to manage the All-Star Game the next year. I'd rather go fishing for three days" - Whitey Herzog