Regner: JV's mistaken notion costly to AL

Published Jul. 12, 2012 3:09 p.m. ET

foxsports

Until Bud Selig screwed up, the MLB All-Star Game was a competitive exhibition that nobody took seriously — except for Pete Rose.

Once baseball adopted the asinine idea of awarding home-field advantage in the World Series to the winning league, it changed the one-time exhibition into a real game.

As much as you might disagree with Selig’s folly, a meaningless game now has serious implications. Home-field advantage in the World Series has had a significant impact on the outcome of the Fall Classic.

Unfortunately, Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander doesn’t see it that way and decided to give fans what he thought they wanted to see — JV flame-throwing a baseball.

Verlander was subsequently lit up by the National League, surrendering five runs in the first inning, which essentially made the rest of the game unwatchable.

During his post-game comments, Verlander brushed off his performance, saying he went out to the mound to put on a show. He believed fans wanted to see baseball’s version of the Human Torch, not watch him pick the corners of the plate.

Many have applauded JV’s approach, saying he embraced the true meaning of baseball’s All-Star Game. And once upon a time, they were right.

Today, thanks to Commissioner Bud, you owe it to your league’s eventual pennant winner to play to win.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I found Verlander’s post-game comments self-serving and a bit of a cop-out.

For years, athletes have admonished fans by telling them, "You don’t get it because you didn’t play the game.”

Based on that premise, for Verlander to assume what fans wanted is presumptuous. Trust me, JV, the naked human eye can’t tell the difference between a fastball traveling 90 or 100 miles per hour.

It all seems fast to us.