The NHL All-Star events are set to take place this weekend, and will demonstrate a vastly revised take on the traditional format.
Instead of two teams facing each other, the NHL will host a 3-on-3 tournament this year based on the league's four divisions. Two teams from each conference will square off, with the winners meeting in the final.
Major League Baseball has attempted to alter its own All-Star game in recent years in order to grow its audience, and commissioner Rob Manfred struck gold with his first revision of the Home Run Derby in 2015.
Still, with room for improvement, here's a look at four ways to improve the MLB All-Star Game:
Expand the skills competition
Expanding the Home Run Derby to a full athletic showcase would allow MLB to further sell the abilities of its stars. Many current major leaguers grew up participating in skills competitions such as the Hit, Run, and Throw, so fielding a contest based on that framework would be exciting for fans, while bringing players back to their roots. Who wouldn't want to watch Billy Hamilton, Jose Altuve, and Dee Gordon race around the bases? Or Yoenis Cespedes, Starling Marte, and Jose Bautista show off the power and accuracy of their arm? The skills contest would complement a perfectly revised Home Run Derby.
Retool fan voting
The commissioner avoided a potentially laughable incident when eight members of the Kansas City Royals held starting spots for the AL All-Star team two weeks before voting closed (only four would end up starting). Fan voting reached record numbers last season, so there's a need to continue to encourage fan engagement. There are several options the league could look at, including: 1. Have fans vote from a select group of players determined by the league, 2. Vote for the final three roster spots, or 3. Vote for the starters once the roster is announced.
Scrap home-field advantage
Since 2003, home-field advantage for the World Series has been determined by the winner of the All-Star game. The team with the worst overall regular-season record has held home-field advantage twice by way of its league winning the respective All-Star Game (St. Louis 2011, Boston 2004), and both times those teams went on to win the World Series. Teams with home-field advantage have won nine of the 13 World Series titles since the implementation of the rule. The league would be better served offering a cash prize for players who win the All-Star game, and let home-field advantage be settled by the team with the best record.
Not every team needs representation
MLB All-Star rosters expanded to 34 for each team in 2010, but there's still not enough room to try to force representation from all 30 teams. Clayton Kershaw, who led the NL in strikeouts and was fourth in WHIP when rosters were announced last season, was originally left off the All-Star team. Alex Rodriguez was another casualty of the roster cuts, as he was left off despite arguably posting better numbers than Brock Holt and Jason Kipnis, who were the lone representatives of their teams.
