Baseball is a difficult game to play. To a non fan watching a game on TV, it might not seem that way, but it certainly is. The All Star Game certainly is fun, but it doesn’t quite show how remarkably athletic the guys on the field are. That’s how MLB needs to expand its reach: by showing how talented the players actually are. How can this be fixed? By implementing a Skills Competition during All Star Weekend.
What would an MLB Skills Competition look like? For one, the Home Run Derby will be added as an event to it, rather than an event by itself like it currently is. In addition to the Home Run Derby, events would include a Bunt Competition, Throw Competition, Home to Home Races, and a Pinpoint Pitch Contest.
For each competition, there will be eight contestants. One from each division, one from the hosting team, and one out of position player.
Home Run Derby
Everyone knows the rules to the Derby, so I’ll skip to the contestants, chosen by their 2018 home run count:
AL East — JD Martinez
AL Central — Jose Ramirez
AL West — Mike Trout
NL East — Ozzie Albies
NL Central — Jesus Aguilar
NL West — Nolan Arenado
Hometown Rep — Bryce Harper
Out of position — Michael Lorenzen
Bunt Off
Each contestant gets two attempts to third base and two attempts to first base. The closest fair bunt in terms of feet to each base counts, and the player with the smallest total between the two bunts wins. A foul bunt counts as 50 feet away.
Example (Contestant 1):
Third Base bunt 1 — Foul (+50)
Third Base bunt 2 — 12 feet away (+12)
First Base bunt 1 — 25 feet away (+25)
First base bunt 2 — 19 feet away (+19)
Contestant one gets his lowest score from each base totaled up, so he gets a +31. Lowest score wins.
Here are the contestants, chosen by their bunt hit count in 2018 (out of position player chosen by sacrifice hit count):
AL East — Didi Gregorius
AL Central — Leonys Martin
AL West — Delino DeShields
NL East—Ender Inciarte
NL Central — Jose Peraza
NL West — Jarrod Dyson
Hometown Rep — Trea Turner
Out of position — Chad Kuhl
Throw Competition
Each contestant gets a throw from a designated spot from left field, center field, and right field. Like the bunt competition, the player with the smallest total distance from home plate on the three throws (once it hits the ground, no bounces allowed) wins!
Contestants are chosen by their outfield assists in 2018:
AL East — Aaron Judge
AL Central — Leonys Martin
AL West — Mitch Haniger
NL East — Brian Anderson
NL Central — Kyle Schwarber
NL West — Yasiel Puig
Hometown Rep — Bryce Harper
Out of position — Jorge Alfaro
Home to Home Race
Each player gets one run, starting on home plate, touching all three bases and then home plate again. Player with the quickest time wins.
Players chosen by 2018 sprint speed.
AL East — Kevin Kiermaier
AL Central — Adam Engel
AL West — Delino DeShields
NL East — Ronald Acuna Jr
NL Central — Billy Hamilton
NL West — Trevor Story
Hometown Rep — Trea Turner
Out of position — Shohei Ohtani (does he count?)
Pinpoint Pitch Contest
A bullseye like object is set up at home plate. Each pitcher gets five pitches: one right down the middle, and one in each corner of the strike zone. The bullseye moves to the appropriate location for each pitch. You get a certain amount of points for hitting the middle, and then fewer points for each ring away from the center.
Contestants are chosen by fewest BB/9.
AL East — Rick Porcello
AL Central — Corey Kluber
AL West — Bartolo Colon
NL East — Jose Urena
NL Central — Miles Mikolas
NL West — Ross Stripling
Hometown Rep — Max Scherzer
Out of position — Chris Gimenez (I don’t care if he’s in the minors right now)
Overall, I think a Skills Competition for MLB would be a lot of fun and would even be more popular than the All Star Game itself. Would this be a good thing to add? What other competitions would you want to see?
