Imrem: All-stars should want to win for winning's sake

Let's roar a big “Bravo!” for Ned Yost of the Royals, who will manage the American League in the All-Star Game.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura lobbied Yost not to pitch Sox ace Chris Sale in the game.

Never mind that Sale can help the AL win. More important to Ventura is that the lanky lefty can help the Sox win after the all-star break.

Well, if Sale doesn't go to the mound tonight, the game might as well be canceled.

Just as players play, pitchers pitch. Actually, one theory is that one reason there are so many arm injuries is that they don't pitch enough.

After Ventura's plea, no wonder so much talk centers on how to make the All-Star Game at least appear to be more than a mere exhibition.

The answer should be simple: How about each team goes all in to win?

Not because the winning league earns homefield advantage in the World Series. Not because players' livelihoods depend on it. Not for any material benefit.

Why not try to win the All-Star Game just for the sake of winning the All-Star Game?

Cubs legend Billy Williams remembers that's the way it was during his Hall of Fame career, back in the 1960s and 1970s when the leagues were distinct from each other.

There were league offices back then. There weren't interleague games. There were league presidents. There were few interleague trades. There were umpires in one league only or in the other league only. There wasn't a powerful players union bonding players from both leagues into one happy family.

Williams said over the weekend, “When you made the all-stars, you'd get a wire from Warren Giles.”

The National League president relayed three messages: 1. Congratulations; 2. Have a lot of fun; 3. The bottom line is to make sure the National League wins the game.

Williams, who played in six All-Star Games, said that Giles would arrive in the host city, meet with NL players “and emphasize that we wanted to keep the American League behind us.”

Starting pitchers such as Sandy Koufax and Tom Seaver would throw as many as 3 innings. Premier players such as Willie Mays and Hank Aaron wanted to play as long as possible. Managers managed like winning mattered.

For Williams, being an all-star was an honor.

“How enjoyable,” he said of his first All-Star Game. “(Manager) Fred Hutchinson said, 'Williams, go pick up (replace) Stan Musial.' I thought those were the greatest words I ever heard.”

As the leagues began blending into one, playing in the All-Star Game became less and less special.

Being voted or named to the team was important essentially because contracts included all-star bonuses.

But players would concoct excuses, sometimes overstated injuries, to play hooky.

Pitchers started being pampered. Managers were more interested in getting every player into the game than in winning.

Attitudes have reverted a bit. Players seem appreciative again of being all-stars. Most position players want to get into the game for at least an at-bat and stay to the end.

But even Billy Williams understands that as much as ever Job 1 is staying healthy for the rest of the season.

So managers like Robin Ventura want pitchers like Chris Sale to be protected, and lesser all-stars — yes, there are such things — replace better players just so everyone makes an appearance.

Oh for the days when the all-star motto was, “You … play … to … win … the … game.”

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