Thread:Bdj610/@comment-5250721-20161202073120/@comment-6268337-20161202191018

I've read in the past, before free agency happened, that players in both leagues really wanted to show up the other in this game and win the ASG. It was played like a real game. Players didn't enter the games just to get in. Starters did sometimes play nine innings...even more if the game went into extras. Starting pitchers pitched five innings or more too. The rule now is that pitchers are limited to no more than three innings. But managers lately only have them out for one just so they can try and get everyone in, and even that isn't always successful.

The agreement indicates that the players will split winnings, obviously the winning team would get more. So it's now money that the players are shooting for. I get why it was set that way (back after the ASG tie in 2002), but HFA (home field advantage) for the best record in baseball makes more sense. Yes, it would have meant the Cubs would have played at Wrigley in Game 7. But it worked out better in the end for them anyway.