Jon Paul Morosi is a national MLB writer for FOXSports.com

Courtesy FOXSports.com

The All-Star Game on Tuesday will showcase a record five major league rookies, including wunderkinds Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. A decade of revenue sharing has drawn the 30 franchises closer together, resulting in bizarre word combinations such as “first-place Washington Nationals” and “division-leading Pittsburgh Pirates.” Major League Baseball is in the midst of an attendance boom.

Our national pastime is changing, in ways that have not become clear until now. The sharp decrease (if not complete eradication) of performance-enhancing drugs has initiated an epoch of dominant pitching and monthly no-hitters. But that is only part of the story.

The denouement of the Steroid Era transformed the way we watch baseball — for the better.

Juiced-up sluggers, sluggish paces and slow-pitch softball scores are out. Speed, athleticism and savvy defensive shifts are in. Players, managers and even general managers — thank you, Sandy Alderson — have brought personality to a sometimes staid sport through their use of Twitter.

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