MLB moves 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta to Colorado

[sky1324]

I think the ultimate point of moving the ASG is not to be the thing that gets the bill revoked, but instead to be another piece on the pile of things that pressure Georgia into getting rid of the bill. Again, it's like what happened to Charlotte: moving the ASG made the law a national discussion and apply tons of pressure to Georgia/North Carolina. I doubt that losing the ASG will be the thing that makes all these legislators who voted for the bill go "oh, well, this we can't lose!" but doing any damage to economy might help.

[Seadragon76]

You got the right idea, @QCS. This move alone won't revoke the bill, but it will put pressure on the legislators to fix what they've done.

 

Also... Keep an eye on states who have similar bills like the one in Georgia that is coming through and what the leagues do in response. Arizona has a Super Bowl and a Final Four set for Glendale in the next two years; Atlanta, Miami and Orlando are bid cities for the 2026 World Cup (and there are other sports as well).

[BBTV]

disregard.

[GDAWG]

The 2021 MLB Draft was going to be in Atlanta?  Yikes, I am so out of the loop on the MLB that I thought that the draft was conducted at MLB Headquarters in New York City.

 

[slapshot]

4 hours ago, GDAWG said:

The 2021 MLB Draft was going to be in Atlanta?  Yikes, I am so out of the loop on the MLB that I thought that the draft was conducted at MLB Headquarters in New York City.

 

 To be honest, I don’t even know if the draft is live at one location like the other major sports. MLB has its draft during the season, and I’d wager that most of the draftees are playing somewhere, whether it’s in NCAA or other summer collegiate leagues.

 

I’m not sure why the draft would have to move beyond league headquarters,

[nickp91]

Only right if the MLB moves the All-Star Game back to Los Angeles It was supposed to be at Dodger Stadium last season before the pandemic

[LMU]

20 minutes ago, nickp91 said:

Only right if the MLB moves the All-Star Game back to Los Angeles It was supposed to be at Dodger Stadium last season before the pandemic

Nope. Already rescheduled.

[Digby]

22 hours ago, QCS said:

I think the ultimate point of moving the ASG is not to be the thing that gets the bill revoked, but instead to be another piece on the pile of things that pressure Georgia into getting rid of the bill. Again, it's like what happened to Charlotte: moving the ASG made the law a national discussion and apply tons of pressure to Georgia/North Carolina. I doubt that losing the ASG will be the thing that makes all these legislators who voted for the bill go "oh, well, this we can't lose!" but doing any damage to economy might help.

it’s all of this, but also that the big name sponsors that do All Star Games every year also don’t want to be associated with voter suppression. If MLB keeps the game there, half the sponsors feel the heat and pull out anyway. Pulling the game now protects the league and the sponsors.
 

Again: the likes of Coca-Cola and Delta were making statements against this bill even before MLB did anything (not, um, threatening to lay people off if ATL loses the ASG).

[DG_ThenNowForever]

On 4/2/2021 at 4:16 PM, infrared41 said:

If you all will indulge me, I'm going to post these details from SavannahNow.com (first article I found in a search) and we can discuss what the problems are with these changes. I'm working from an article so it's entirely possible that it has left out key details.

 

The piece it titled "New Georgia Voting Bill brings sweeping changes. Here is how it will impact you."

 

• The absentee ballot request period is shorter starting 11 weeks before the election and ending 11 days before.
•  
• Runoff elections are shortened to four weeks instead of nine.
•  
• Tightens requirements for county elections supervisors such as requiring them to have absentee ballots counted by 5pm the day after an election.
•  
• Bans the use of mobile voting buses for early voting except in the case of emergencies.
•  
• Drop boxes have been authorized for use by law, but are only available during voting hours and are placed inside early voting locations.There is also a population cap on how many can be set up. Drop boxes can be capped at one per 100,000 active voters in the county or one for every voting location. Counties must choose between the smaller of the two. Drop boxes will only be accessible during early voting.
•  
• Passing out food and drink to voters is also criminalized and partisan poll workers will have to undergo training. Poll workers can pass out water to voters.
•  
• The Secretary of State would no longer chair the State Election Board and would instead be appointed by legislators.

Feel free to tell me what should be added to the list. All I ask is that we can cite where we got the info.

 

Here you go:

 

Reading the thread is a good idea. Criminalizing someone taking a photo of their ballot seems like a bad one, among plenty of others.

[infrared41]

15 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

Here you go:

 

Reading the thread is a good idea. Criminalizing someone taking a photo of their ballot seems like a bad one, among plenty of others.

 

Duly noted. I'll add this to the original post.

[MJWalker45]

12 hours ago, LMU said:

Nope. Already rescheduled.

Still gives me the old NBC Movie of the Week vibes. 

[neo_prankster]

On 4/3/2021 at 7:43 AM, QCS said:

I think the ultimate point of moving the ASG is not to be the thing that gets the bill revoked, but instead to be another piece on the pile of things that pressure Georgia into getting rid of the bill. Again, it's like what happened to Charlotte: moving the ASG made the law a national discussion and apply tons of pressure to Georgia/North Carolina. I doubt that losing the ASG will be the thing that makes all these legislators who voted for the bill go "oh, well, this we can't lose!" but doing any damage to economy might help.

 

On 4/3/2021 at 11:22 AM, Seadragon76 said:

You got the right idea, @QCS. This move alone won't revoke the bill, but it will put pressure on the legislators to fix what they've done.

 

Also... Keep an eye on states who have similar bills like the one in Georgia that is coming through and what the leagues do in response. Arizona has a Super Bowl and a Final Four set for Glendale in the next two years; Atlanta, Miami and Orlando are bid cities for the 2026 World Cup (and there are other sports as well).

 

Why not move the All Star Game to San Diego?

[slapshot]

57 minutes ago, neo_prankster said:

 

 

Why not move the All Star Game to San Diego?

 

While this could be considered an emergency rescheduling, moving the game to San Diego would mean the city has hosted the game 4 times in 43 years (1978, 1992, 2016, 2021), while some cities in that time frame have only hosted it once (Milwaukee, Baltimore, Boston, Oakland).

[LMU]

They tend to want to showcase new/renovated stadiums for these things.  One of the ideas I saw in an oped was Kansas City, especially since they had the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues torpedoed by the pandemic last year.  Granted, Missouri is probably looking to pass a similar law so that could be an issue.

[BBTV]

I think some people are making the assumption that every team/city wants to host it, which I doubt is the case.  Some city may have only had it once in 40 years, but also may not have made any effort to host again.  Could be wrong - maybe they all do really covet the opportunity - but, at least in NBA, it's true that not all cities want to go near an All Star event.

[The_Admiral]

It'd be fun to see it in a neutral site, but at this point, the inessential nature of the All-Star Game means they'll probably just cancel it altogether. Sucks. My advice for the future is not to reinstitute Jim Crow legislation.

[goalieboy82]

17 minutes ago, the admiral said:

It'd be fun to see it in a neutral site, but at this point, the inessential nature of the All-Star Game means they'll probably just cancel it altogether. Sucks. My advice for the future is not to reinstitute Jim Crow legislation.

i think the ASG died (slowly) when interleague started.  

 

[CATLogo1]

On 4/2/2021 at 2:15 PM, DG_ThenNowForever said:

I'll try. I'm glad they moved the All-Star Game. Actions have consequences.

 

Re: interleague play, I think it's weird when two teams start the season with interleague, like the M's and Giants, but that's a math problem. There's really only so much you can do.

IMO, the one way that MLB could solve the constant interleague play problem is to add 2 new expansion teams that make the most geographical sense (one in each league), while keeping traditional rivalries such as Red Sox vs. Yankees, Cardinals vs. Cubs or Dodgers vs. Giants intact (MLB would need to realign to accommodate the expansion teams & then re-do the scheduling matrix). FWIW, MLB hasn't added any new expansion teams since 1998, and there haven't been any team/league shifts since the Houston Astros shifted from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013. Once each league has 16 teams, then I feel like MLB could do away with regular season interleague play. Again, I feel like one of the reasons why more people watched MLB baseball back in the day was because there was no regular season interleague (back before 1997, the only interleague play was in the World Series). Expansion, therefore, could be one way to rejuvenate or re-stimulate widespread public interest in MLB again.

[Dilbert]

If it wasnt for the Marlins recently hosting the game I'd have said move it to Miami. The Marlins were supposed to host in 2000 but had the game pulled from them and the game went to Atlanta instead. Instead I think it should go to Milwaukee. A good place to pay tribute to Aaron but also to make up for the fiasco that was the last all star game in Milwaukee

[MJWalker45]

2 hours ago, goalieboy82 said:

i think the ASG died (slowly) when interleague started.  

 

I'd say when they ended up tied in 2002. It's not like every team plays every other team in the other league. 

 

1 hour ago, Dilbert said:

If it wasnt for the Marlins recently hosting the game I'd have said move it to Miami. The Marlins were supposed to host in 2000 but had the game pulled from them and the game went to Atlanta instead. Instead I think it should go to Milwaukee. A good place to pay tribute to Aaron but also to make up for the fiasco that was the last all star game in Milwaukee

Good point.