Allan Huber “Bud” Selig, Jr., beleaguered commissioner of Major League Baseball, is at it again. The great overseer of the steroid era himself is advocating a special promotion which would feature David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox, calling his home run a la Babe Ruth during the Home Run Derby. This proposed dog and pony show would be the marquee moment of the 2008 All Star celebration, in what is the final year of existence for Yankee Stadium.

Are you kidding me, the apex member of the arch rival Boston Red Sox pretending to be Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium? Get the hell out of here.

Without question I truly respect the Boston Red Sox, their first-rate front office and all that the New England powerhouse brings to the sport. HOWEVER, this plan is an absolute joke for one very simple reason, this All Star game is intended to honor the rich history of the most hallowed stadium in sports - The Stadium of Sports. This All Star event must be singularly focused on paying homage to the stadium and Yankee tradition. In this sacred hall of legends, the majesty of what these grounds symbolize cannot be tarnished by bringing the focus of the moment on a prominent member of the arch rival Red Sox. That is outright stupidity.

The powers that be within Major League Baseball are completely off-base here, not that that should be a surprise considering Selig’s sparkling track record, and this plan must die now. The fact that genius executives sat in a board room and thought this was a good idea is bizarre at best. The love affair with the Boston Red Sox lately is understandable considering their dominant play after spending the better part of 8 decades playing second fiddle to the Yankees - but now is not the time to rub their nose in the face of the Yankees. I reiterate, this All Star game is about Yankee Stadium, NOT the Boston Red Sox.

One of three things must happen here:

  1. Baseball scraps this idea altogether and just has the normal Home Run Derby - which is what I think it should do (remember Ruth hit that famous home run in Wrigley Field during the 1932 Fall Classic).
  2. Allow Alex Rodriguez, the great Yankee Slugger, to replicate the Ruthian smash. Sure he is right-handed, but at least he is, well… you know,… a Yankee!!!
  3. If David Ortiz is asked to go ahead and take this swing (which seems very likely at this point) a compromise should then take place - Ortiz should wear a Yankee uniform during the event. Plain and simple.

I cannot believe I even had to write about such nonsense. Often times I too am embarrassed by the legions of arrogant Yankee fans who are consumed with a sense of entitlement, but in this instance I too have to join my self-inflated cohorts. This idea should have never been hatched, and I’m sorry if the plan goes through every fan in the Stadium should turn to the luxury box, point at Bud Selig and boo him during Ortiz’s at bat.

Are there any other baseball purists out there?

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