For 14 years from 2003-2016, the MLB All-Star Game carried a lot of weight as it decided home field in the World Series. Having a roster full of the best of the best was critical for both the American League and the National League. While it's a true exhibition now, the game still holds weight with baseball fans all over wanting to see the top tier pitchers like Jacob deGrom face the top hitters like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Shohei Ohtani.
While fans usually get their wishes granted on that front, they won't this year in one case. Jacob deGrom, the New York Mets ace and the best pitcher in all of baseball has decided to pass on the MLB All-Star Game at Coors Field in Colorado. It makes sense if only from the aspect that deGrom could use the rest after dealing with multiple minor injuries throughout the season so far.
It's understandable that Jacob deGrom is going this route and nobody will blame him for missing a game that doesn't count towards anything. But for a sport that is so regionally based compared to others, the MLB All-Star Game is the one true opportunity that a lot of fans get to see these players in the spotlight on national television.
Because of that, MLB better hope Jacob deGrom opting to skip out on the MLB All-Star Game doesn't turn into a trend.
There have been some groundbreaking trends that have started to pop up across sports just in the last few years.
In college football, Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette both decided to sit out their respective bowl games in 2016. Both did so with their NFL futures in mind and not wanting to risk an injury in the Citrus Bowl or the Sun Bowl. Had their team made the College Football Playoff, both likely would've played. Their decisions in 2016 sparked a trend that is still seen today with some star players in college passing on bowl games to focus on the NFL. While it's not ideal for college football, nobody can really fault the athletes for exercising the decision.
In the NBA, it's become more and more of a common occurrence to see a player on a given night sit out do to rest or “load management.” The term “load management” really gained steam with Kawhi Leonard when he was on the Spurs and continued when he was with the Raptors and now the Clippers. While the NBA has tried to find ways to prevent this like limiting the amount of back-to-back contests, it's happening more and more in the league.
Now, Jacob deGrom, in a move rarely seen unless a player is on the injured list or had just pitched a day or two before the MLB All-Star Game, won't be a part of the National League team. And MLB has their fingers crossed that this is just an outlier scenario.
The All-Star Game isn't the be-all end-all but there's no doubting that MLB has had a problem marketing its best players to help bump up popularity within the sport. Outside of Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and the Saturday games on FOX, there aren't many national television appearances for baseball unless fans are dialed into the MLB Network channel. So as crazy as it may sound, there are baseball fans who have likely not seen anything outside of Twitter clips and YouTube highlights of Jacob deGrom this year. That chance to see him go even one inning, knowing there could be a deGrom – Ohtani matchup or a deGrom – Guerrero Jr. matchup is why fans tune into the game. And it's one of the platforms MLB tries to use to put their best in the spotlight for an evening in July.
Jacob deGrom choosing to miss the MLB All-Star Game is a slight blow to the game at Coors Field but makes sense given some of his injury hiccups this year. What Rob Manfred and Co. have to focus on is making sure this doesn't become a trend for others. This isn't a reserve infielder who's saying, “Thanks but no thanks,” it's the best pitcher in the world skipping the festivities. And although he likely would've only pitched one inning, it certainly would've been inning one as the starter and some would've tuned in just to watch that, just to see for themselves how incredible the Mets ace has truly been all year.
Unlike what's happened with key players in college football bowl games and the load management / rest route in the NBA, this probably is an outlier case in MLB. At least, they better hope it is.
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