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I would right now. Who's knocking on that door?

It doesn't increase his value, but it doesn't hurt it either. Devers' value is solely tied to his bat. But moving him does stand a chance at improving overall team play by upgrading the defense. Austin Riley made a difference with his glove last night, for example...

"Rebuilding years" is a quaint little euphemism for "going cheap." Far too many teams have gone that route only to stay on it far longer than anticipated. Quite often the only real accomplishment is saving cash. And even of there is a brief period of semi-success, it is very often followed up with another "rebuilding" period that may or may not work...

Mookie should have been extended before 2019 ever got here...

Again, probably happened a lot. Money may have changed some attitudes, but you don’t see MLB players skipping the All Star game due to injury risk like you do in the NBA. Pitchers do skip it if it messes up their turn, but that’s very understandable. And when I watch some SP that I’m used to watch throwing 93-94 suddenly ramp up to 98mph because he knows he’s only pitching one inning, I certainly don’t think he’s not trying and not taking this meaningless exhibition seriously…

I can agree. I’ve always heard Larry Walker, for example, was very indifferent about baseball and greatly preferred hockey. Anthony Rendon has drawn some ire this year for being less than enthusiastic as well…

Sale vs Grissom. What’s the over/under for number of posts declaring the trade winner based on the performances of these two individuals today?

More important is not whether or not Ted Williams cared. That lends no support to whether players did all through the 1990s and 2000s. I would imagine, like most things, there was no singular universal attitude. Ted Williams probably played with a few All Stars who were more apathetic. And there is probably a full spectrum of attitudes among today’s stars as well…

There was also a ratings dip in the All Star game in 1972.

Ted Williams retired before I was born. But I looked into All Star game viewership history. Pretty consistent from 1967 (as far back as the site went) until 1980. Then it dipped significantly in 1981, slight bump back up in 1982 and then continuously dropping since. So 1981 was really the turning point. And what happened that year? Player strike. So the interest in the game from fans appears to be unrelated to the players’ attitudes or free agency or interleague play, and rather can be linked directly to a labor dispute…

I think it lost appeal due to more entertainment options and a foolish experiment to attach postseason significance. But, bragging rights or not, it’s always been a meaningless exhibition. And the very history of the All Star game tells you that…

??? Going out of context on me?

What year was that? I’m guessing in the 1960s, when the American League faced a massive talent gap and most (all?) of the games big stars were in the National League. Don’t you think his goal was to prove the teams in his league were worth watching and going to see? The AL back then was the “watered down” league we keep hearing about, and this talent gap lead to one of the worst rule changes in sports history - the creation of the DH in the AL only…

I have no idea how much it mattered to the players then nor do I know now. I’m also not sure how you know. What are you basing how much it matters to the players on now? I’ve never once heard a player get upset about going, but I’ve heard many express their excitement. This perception change in the game is probably more on developments in society. I think a big part of the reason it mattered to fans in the 70s and 80s was that it occurred on a very special 3 day stretch when there are no other professional sports of any kind. And back before cable television, you either watched the All Star game or watched some s***** network show like “The Love Boat,” the very existence of which proves how low our entertainment threshold was back then. Now, people have numerous other entertainment options and only the diehards and a few others watch the All Star game. I’m a fan, and I view the game the same way as I did when I was a kid. Was I included in your poll about our attitude on viewership?

Didn’t the NL winning streak occur long after free agency? And didn’t interleague trades start long before the All Star game?

It was still a meaningless exhibition. What meaning did it have? Really all you are doing is attaching significance to a league president’s concerns that viewership (re: revenue) might fall if the best players were not available…

Just called for Chapman to aid the weak infield defense. Devers and Casas were the worst pair of corner infielders in MLB.

Not looking like his best move, is it?

Of course it made the game matter more. Heck it affected voting. Fans would vote for the best players in their league then for mediocre talent in the other. That they wanted to win the All Star game was always silly. It was always a meaningless exhibition. If the game gets too competitive, teams start holding out on bigger (re: more expensive) star players because, why risk injury? Just because some players didn’t have an Off Switch didn’t make the game better. I enjoyed the fun. I enjoyed moments like Barry Bonds charging out to centerfield to carry off Torii Hunter after the latter robbed him of a home run. I enjoyed watching players clamor up the dugout steps to watch Aroldis Chapman throw 102 MPH or better on every pitch, and pitying the teammate at the plate.. I enjoyed watching ARod cede the shortstop position to Cal Ripken one last time. And Chan Ho Park straight up grooving Cal a fastball down the middle just because, well, respect. Watching Rose slam Ray Fosse out of the league was a lowlight, not a highlight…

Well, except that some of us called for that months ago

Disagree. Making it matter (WS home field) made it stupid. It mattered for what it was - the game’s biggest names all in one place. Not because of the outcome. Look at the one play you highlight from those days. Tell me who won that game. What year was it? What was the score? No one remembers, because no one cared…

It was moments like that in which many confuse reckless stupidity with competitiveness…

You run one crowded solar shuttle…

The All Star game was created to finance a pension fund for retired players. Sure it’s a meaningless exhibition, and may it stay that way forever. Worst idea ever was to link it to WS home field. Now it’s just pro players having fun. I’m fine watching that. And outside of the stupid WS home field idea, it was dumb for players to ever take this one game seriously, because want to win or not, it was still a meaningless exhibition back then…

TJ Friedl!