As a Republican and a libertarian I’m used to defending unpopular views. I never thought I’d have to do so for our national pastime’s “Mid-Summer Classic.”

It seems I can’t open a newspaper or turn on any device these days without hearing someone, professional or amateur, complain about the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Good God, you’d think the game was being hosted by Bill Cosby draped in a Confederate flag.

At the risk of sounding merely adversarial, I like the game and its accompanying Home Run Derby the way they are. I couldn’t imagine summer without them, and I look forward to introducing a new generation (well, at least one representative of that generation) to them tonight and tomorrow evening.

Play ball!