Vote is in: All-Star victor no longer gets home field

There was no puff of white smoke emanating from the conference rooms of a Dallas-area hotel Wednesday when baseball’s collective bargaining agreement was reached.

Truthfully, the only parties really interested in the international draft, the luxury-tax threshold and other economic issues were the league, the lawyers, a handful of media members and MLB Network, which would’ve had a lot of time to kill had a lockout canceled next week’s winter meetings.

For the rest of us, probably including some players and owners, the prevailing thought was “wake

me when it’s over.”

Now it’s over. And in a surprise development, the “Selig Rule” was eliminated, taking away World Series home-field advantage from the team whose league wins the All-Star Game and handing it to the team with the best overall record.

Finally.

It’s a blow to Bud Selig’s legacy. The former commissioner came up with the rule in 2003 after the memorable 2002 All-Star tie when teams ran out of pitchers.

The Selig Rule never should’ve been implemented for the simple reason the All-Star Game is managed like a spring training game, with frequent substitutions so every team has a representative. Nowadays, many players just want to go to the festivities and don’t care about participating in the game. They’re already planning their excuses for next year’s game in Miami, where they can vacation with the family and not worry about their league winning the game.

Bravo to Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB for coming to their senses, even at the risk of embarrassing Selig, who should recover by next Monday when he’s expected to be elected to the Hall of Fame on the Today’s Game Era ballot.

The rest of the CBA is complex and full or arcane measures meant to keep the owners and players incredibly wealthy and the playing field relatively even. The game was not broken, so there was no need to overhaul it.

Changes in things like the luxury-tax threshold and free-agent compensation won’t affect fans, so we’ll wait for the owners and players union to spin it after looking at the tape.

In the meantime, here are five thoughts on what happened and what did not happen in CBA talks:

1. Lowering the minimum time on the disabled list from 15 days to 10 should result in increased usage from teams who like to juggle rosters to keep players fresh. It’s also a boon to players who don’t mind sitting out with “mild discomfort” in their arms or lower body. Jorge Soler’s next hamstring injury is penciled in for April 28.

2. There was no change to the 25-man roster through August or the 40-man roster in September. Look for more four-hour games in September with multiple pitching changes from the sixth inning on, thanks to overcrowded bullpens and risk-averse managers.

3. The changes in the qualifying offer for free agents are too long to list here, but the draft pick penalty for signing a player who rejected a qualifying offer has been slightly altered, theoretically making players more marketable. Actually, it’s hard to feel sorry for a free agent who rejects a one-year, $17.2 million qualifying offer and can’t find a better deal. Life isn’t always fair.

4. In the old CBA, a team could go from 101 losses to 103 wins and a World Series championship in four years, as the Cubs proved. All you need is a game plan, a fan base willing to pay to watch bad baseball for three or more years and a scouting department that gives you a Kyle Schwarber instead of more highly touted prospects. This still holds true, despite changes to the CBA. Any team can go from the bottom to the top with the right people in decision-making roles and a whole lot of patience from ownership and fans. Good luck, Twins.

5. There was no mention of banning the shift or limiting the use of relief pitchers in an inning or in a game, two ridiculous ideas floated by Manfred. Common sense prevailed, at least for the next five years.