Vladimir Guerrero puts on show as AL beats NL in All-Star Game again
NY Post
DENVER — Shohei Ohtani yielded the floor to a fellow dynamo Tuesday night at Coors Field, and Major League Baseball is none the worse for it.
For if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. can’t match his lethal bat with a remarkable mound presence a la Ohtani, he sure can similarly rev up a crowd and a sport. The prodigal Blue Jays first baseman did something his Hall of Fame dad never pulled off, becoming the youngest (at 22) to win MLB All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player honors as he powered the American League over the National League, 5-2. The Junior Circuit picked up where it left off before the coronavirus pandemic canceled last year’s event, winning its eighth straight All-Star Game.It was only a three-second glimpse, but Matt Rempe, finally, showcased offensive strides. The ones he started talking about in the preseason — after a summer’s worth of work — and kept doubling down on, even when he fluctuated in and out of the Rangers lineup and shuttled back and forth to AHL Hartford.
In a different time, in a season to come, we may be inclined to wax poetic about the way this one played out. In a different time, in a season to come, the Nets will be seeking to stack wins and not losses, will be fighting for playoff seeding and not for a few extra ping-pong balls in the draft lottery this spring.
The NBA has an All-Star Game problem. Despite Adam Silver’s efforts to inject juice into the February showcase — including a format alteration to the 2025 game that is too confusing to attempt to understand before it’s inevitably changed again — there’s little interest in watching teams eschew defense for a series of layup line highlights. That also means the most entertaining part of the NBA All-Star Game is just like the Pro Bowl — debating over who should get a spot.