It’s soapbox time. Time for this writer’s annual rant against having the All-Star Game determine home-field advantage for the World Series.

The All-Star Game has been little more than an exhibition for fans, who get a chance to add their two cents to the game by voting for the starters. It’s been pageantry, an event that seldom generates memories beyond the end of the season.

In fact, the most memorable game of late for this writer is the 1999 Midsummer Classic, and it had nothing to do with the game itself. Seeing Ted Williams on the grass of Fenway Park, surrounded by the modern-day stars before the game, is unforgettable.

The fans deserve some credit. At times favorite players get the nod over the best players, though this year it’s notable that the fans have smartly selected relative unknowns such as Geovany Soto, Josh Hamilton and Ryan Braun for starting jobs. Still, too much is at stake in October to make the selection process a fan-participation event, or to require that a player from each of the 30 teams is on the roster.

Since 1982, the team with home-field advantage has won 20 of 25 World Series. The only clubs to overcome home-field advantage in this stretch are the 1984 Tigers, 1992 Blue Jays, 1999 Yankees, 2003 Marlins and 2006 Cardinals.

Clinching a World Series title on the road in a sixth or seventh game has been nearly impossible, with the home team posting an 18-3 record in Games 6 and 7 since 1982. No home team has lost a Game 7 since Pittsburgh came back from a 3-1 deficit and won the final two games at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium to claim the 1979 Fall Classic. Since then, the home team is 8-0 in Game 7. Visiting clubs don't fare much better in Game 6, going 3-10.

Another part of the pageantry is managers feeling obligated to play just about everyone on the roster. If the game is close in the late innings, we are unlikely to see the best players taking critical at-bats.

An exhibition game in July shouldn't play a role in deciding who wins the last game of the season in October. Giving the team with the best regular-season record home-field advantage is a better idea, but the power of television may prevent that from ever being an option.