New ways to determine home field advantage for the World Series

Imagine Adam Wainwright starting Game 7 of the World Series in Oakland instead of St. Louis.

Do you think someone might mention the leadoff double he “allowed” to Derek Jeter?

The All-Star Game is a tradition that every other major sport has attempted to duplicate, but some of the others -- namely the NFL -- have allowed their game to become a joke, something no one really cares about. MLB commissioner Bud Selig did not want this to happen in baseball.

So beginning in 2003, after the 2002 All-Star Game in Selig’s hometown Milwaukee was declared an “embarrassing” tie, the commissioner decided to award home field advantage in the World Series to the victorious league. This was supposed to reinvigorate interest in the Midsummer Classic.

It isn’t working. At all.

Ratings have consistently dropped since the 1990s. The home field advantage factor has had almost no discernible effect ... oh, and it’s ridiculous.

Since the game started to “matter” in 2003, the league that won the All-Star Game has won the eight of the 11 ensuing World Series. So maybe we should walk that back and say that Selig’s decision to change the All-Star Game has had an effect on baseball. A big one.

So if home field advantage is such a big advantage -- chances of winning improve 19 percent according to the LA Times’ Zach Hefland -- then why is it decided by something as arbitrary as the final score of the All-Star Game? Several players have almost no chance of seeing the benefit of winning the game. For example, do you think Kirk Gibson and Kevin Towers told Paul Goldschmidt to go out there and give it his all? Okay, maybe that’s not a great example. But the point is still relevant.

Actually, if you’re going to attempt to make something more interesting, why not make the winner of the Home Run Derby responsible for deciding home field advantage? That’s way more boring than an actual baseball game. If the league office is willing to consider a Derby-chosen home field advantage, maybe they would consider a few other ways to decide who gets the upper hand in the Series everyone is playing to win.

It would be kind of like penalty kicks in the World Cup.

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I’m sorry. That’s not funny, but it might precipitate rapid advancements in the field of sports medicine.

Billy Hamilton. Jose Altuve. 90 feet. One ball.

As long as Angel Hernandez has the benefit of instant replay.

And then do the opposite, of course.

They’d still play the game and everything, but home field advantage would be determined by a simple coin flip. It makes a little less sense than the current format, but if they did it this way, no one could ever be blamed for the outcome -- except Bud and in some extreme situations George Washington.

All of these suggestions are completely and utterly excellent and I stand by them 100 percent. Without question, the league should consider them when deciding home field advantage for the World Series ...

Or they could just give it to the team that earns it during the regular season.