Manfred: All-Star Game deciding WS home-field had 'a shelf life'

For the first time in 14 seasons, the All-Star Game will decide nothing other than bragging rights, and that's fine by MLB's commissioner Rob Manfred, who thinks the league he oversees has been too hesitant to welcome change in the past.

"Everything has a shelf life," Manfred told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN regarding the All-Star Game no longer determining World Series home-field advantage. "It's something we have probably been too slow to recognize sometimes in the game.

"What people came to understand is home-field advantage is really significant in the World Series. It's probably the cherry on top of that ice cream sundae. The Cubs won 103 games last year, and they weren't home either weekend. It just doesn't seem right, does it?"

Of the 13 World Series to have home field determined by the outcome of the All-Star Game, the home team won 10 of them.

In his less-than-three-year tenure, Manfred has been very open about potential alterations to the game. Some of those include limiting the use of the defensive shift, introducing pitch clocks, and altering the dimensions of the strike zone.