The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is coming to Philadelphia in 2026, and I should be excited. I’m not and for good reason.

Citizens Bank Park will roll out the red carpet for the game’s greatest players on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, with the other pageantry such as the Home Run Derby on Monday, July 13. Eh, I’ll pass.

Last week, I wrote about going to the All-Game festivities in Pittsburgh in 1994. That was a blast.

I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and traffic around here compares to leaving Happy Valley after a White Out Game and expecting to be over the mountains in 15 to 20 minutes. So, 10 days after tolerating Fourth of July bumper-to-bumper conditions, Philadelphians will welcome Major League Baseball’s biggest names.

No, thanks. But the traffic snarls aren’t the reason why I’ve lost interest in the game. The sport of baseball barely catches my eye because games last forever – it’s untimed. Sure, the pitch clock has helped, but it’s not the same as football, basketball, ice hockey or even soccer.

Also, I just read something about this year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta I could barely believe. When the game ended with a swing-off, many starters had left early. What?

The field for the swing-off left fans a little caught off-guard. Some of the biggest names in the sport, such as Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, were left out.

The reasoning, it turns out, was simple. They, like many of the players, had left early. Ohtani was “long gone,” according to National League All-Star manager Dave Roberts.

While there were several big names left out of the contest, it makes sense if some players weren’t planning on sticking around. If they’re playing only a few innings early, it’s tough to stay loose in a glorified exhibition to then come back and hit home runs a few hours later.

And because those lineups were also pre-determined, some big stars who did stick around such as the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr., who finished second in the Home Run Derby last season, said he wasn’t asked.

Roberts and American League All-Star manager Aaron Boone didn’t choose their swing-off rosters based on who was still around, but they might have avoided starters to allow those players to leave early. The managers chose their participants prior to the game. So if many of the starters knew they wouldn’t be involved in the swing-off, then they had the freedom to head home.

OK, still not cool.

I realize the game doesn’t count in the standings, and I’m not even sure the league that wins the All-Star Game means home-field advantage in the World Series (they don’t as MLB stopped that experiment in 2017).

But cutting out early? C’mon man. That’s plain disrespectful to the fans who put out their hard-earned money to see them – play or not play. You don’t see Patrick Mahomes or Lebron James doing that.

No one probably noticed because the dugouts aren’t in plain view like the benches or sidelines in the other sports. If I got voted, I’d probably leave early as the game is really meaningless. At the same time, it’s supposed to highlight the game and put the best talent on the field.

So, Philadelphia, good luck. Put your best foot forward. I’m sure “The Bank” will make the city proud. Just count me out.

I love Bryce Harper and what he has done to energize sports fans in the city, but baseball could do more … like make the players stay until the final out.

I’d love to cut early at work sometimes, but imagine if I just stopped writing here. In the spirit of baseball, I’ll do just that.

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Greg Williams is a reporter and Weekend Editor for The Sentinel. A Mifflin County native, he has been writing for The Sentinel since 1991.