The MLB All Star Game

The Major League Baseball All Star Game, known as the Midsummer Classic, pits the National League versus the American League in the symbolic midway point of the baseball season.

The game boasts arguably the best rosters in the game, with fan votes filling the starting lineups and the players voting in the rest of the order. The rules have often presented a logistical challenge, and the All Star Game has seen some controversial changes over the course of its history.

In one unpopular instance, the commissioner convinced the player’s union agreed that the game would decide home field advantage in the World Series.

There has also been controversy – in 1957 Cincinnati Reds fans (and the entire city of Cincinnati) conspired to place seven Reds on the starting lineup. The local paper is said to have printed ballots and bars in town wouldn’t serve people until they had voted.

Most of all, from the Home Run Derby to the actual nine innings, the game is a show of baseball strength.