Tuesday's Major League Baseball All-Star game was just more of the same.

The National League fights hard, but ends up being losers in the end.

That's why the American League has taken the last 10 All-Star games in a row and seven out of the last 10 World Series'.

The American League is often criticized for the designated hitter rule and for being the home of the New York Yankees, but there is ‘a 90s saying that should be applied for the American League from now on.

&#8220Don't hate the player, hate the game.”

For years the American League has taken criticisms, but the American League has also been dominant during those years.

What happened Tuesday night just shows that no matter how bad the American League plays and how good the National League plays, the competitive advantage of playing in the American League has never been higher than it is right now.

And it isn't because the pitcher doesn't bat in the National League, either.

The reason the American League has become so dominant in the last 30 years is because that's where the best owners, managers and players are and have been playing.

I was flabbergasted a few nights ago when I saw an Atlanta Braves commercial and during the commercial it played highlight clips from memorable moments, including Bob Costas proclaiming &#8220The team of the ‘90s has their World Championship,” following the 1995 World Series.

In Bob's defense, how could he have known that the Yankees would win four of the next five World Series'?

But then again, how could a reputable sports announcer like Costas count out a team like the Yankees being able to perform such a feat?

The Braves were without a doubt a great program during the ‘90s, but just like Phillies and the Padres, they couldn't get it done when they got to the big game.

But unlike the Phillies and the Padres, the Braves reached the World Series five times in ‘90s, only winning one. Matter of fact, the Braves only took the Series into a Game 7 once during those four losses, while also getting swept by the Yankees in 1999.

Since the post-Ted Turner era began, when the endless money supply dried up, the Braves have failed to make it to the Series and Bobby Cox's real managerial skills have been displayed.

The National League has stepped up a few times in the last 10 years, most notably the Arizona Diamondbacks' huge Game 7 victory in 2001.

The Florida Marlins have also shown some light into the future of the National League by taking two World Series Championships in the last 10 years.

That's one more than Atlanta has in their whole history, two if you're cruel enough to take Milwaukee's one, and just 24 less than the Yankees.

Sure the National League will always be home to some really good baseball, but with teams like the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox emerging in front of the highest-paid roster of the Yankees, the American League will be looking back on the last 10 All-Star wins as the first 10 of 20.

Austin Phillips is The Greenville Advocate sports editor. He can be reached at 382-3111 ext. 122, by fax at 382-7104 or by e-mail at austin.phillips@greenvilleadvocate.com