What do you think about a skills competition for baseball during the All Star Break?

Question

To find out things like who has the best arm or who is the fastest in baseball

Answer 1

That would be great - a lot of people don't realize that there's more to baseball than hitting home runs.
There's no use in someone getting on base if they don't know what to do.
In 2005, Scott Podsednik was a big reason the white sox won the world series, yet he hit 1 home run the whole season.
He used his other skills (bunting, speed and baserunning) to help his team.
Vlad might be able to hit pretty well, but how many people know that he can throw a baseball across a whole field and into the stands?

Answer 2

Excellent idea. MLB is in trouble and they need to get baseball on the TV as much as possible. Right now, everybody is "jones-ing" and going through the shakes for sports. I am already looking at my football team and my Fantasy draft. Baseball is over and this is the boring lull in sports. Yeah, Wimbledon is good, but its not giving me my "fix". Look at the NFL, the combine is on tv, the skill challenges for the seniors was on ESPN. They do NFL skills competition at the Pro Bowl. Eventually, we are going to see NFL stuff all year long, because we (and I ) are going to demand it. I'd rather watch "Day in the life of" NFL players currently on Adrian Peterson on ESPN than a 3 1/2 hour game between the Reds and the Rangers. :) OMG, I am sorry, I love my Reds, but, i speak the truth!

If we are going to talk injury, "Chipmaker", than let's ask Ray Fosse, now what, we do away with the All Star game. Ref: 1970 All Star game and Pete Rose ended Ray's career.

So, tough, play the skills challenge.

Answer 3

Not sure GMs would want pitchers going out there, especially on two or three days rest, trying to throw it 103 for show. What about hitting? A bunting contest? A 'slap the ball to the opposite field' contest? The HR derby is the skills comp. People show up to see Ryan Howard dump on everyone else. To see Griffey hit it off the warehouse. No one wants to see that stuff, besides the derby.

Answer 4

Ask Barry Larkin if it was a good idea.

There USED TO BE a skills competition -- baserunning, throwing, etc. Larkin got injured in 1989 in a throwing contest, missed nearly two months.

And that was the end of the skills contests except for the very low-risk home run derby.

No owner -- and granted it was Large Marge Schott, who probably ranted to an extreme, even for her, about losing her star shortstop for some silly exhibition when she's paying him to play in championship competition games -- wants to risk their well-paid players (All-Stars, remember!) for some meaningless contest.

Nice idea, but now totally discredited thanks to the Larkin incident. I cannot imagine something like that coming back, but go ahead and write to the kommissar's office.

Answer 5

They already got a home run derby. What's more fun than showin' your skills than blastin' the ball over 400 feet and gettin' a sweet souvenir?!?!? I love the home run derby, best skills competition in all of sports?

Answer 6

HR Derby is all the fans really want to see. Think about it the first yr they do it ok people will watch but 5 yrs from now even less no one is gonna care. They just want the long ball.

Answer 7

Yeah that would be pretty cool. They have the same thing for the NBA all star game.

Answer 8

would be interesting. they have the home run derby and people watch that. i would definitely watch a skills type competition

Answer 9

Dumb. its a WHO CARES kinda thing. its all for show. Not unlike the Dunking Contest in the NBA...

Answer 10

They have a HR derby, thats good enough.