Cubs' Joe Maddon On Home-Field Advantage: 'Don't Think It Really Matters'

(CBS) With an MLB-best mark of 43-19, the Cubs are on a path to holding home-field advantage in the National League come postseason time. Regarding any potential trip to the World Series that sits as the team's goal, that home-field advantage will be decided on July 12 at the All-Star Game in San Diego, where the winning squad clinches the distinction for its league.

To all of this, Cubs manager Joe Maddon doesn't much care.

"Home-field advantage, I don't think really means that much anymore in baseball," Maddon said on the Spiegel and Goff Show on Tuesday. "Remember the wild-card game in Pittsburgh? So from that perspective, I like the home-court advantage only because your fans get to see you possibly one more time. From a fan's perspective, I like it. From a realistic perspective, I don't think it really matters."

That Cubs won a road game against the Pirates in the win-or-go-home NL wild-card game last year at PNC Park. Then in the division series, Chicago lost the divisional series opener in St. Louis before taking Game 2 at Busch Stadium and closing out the series with two wins at Wrigley Field. Again without home-field advantage in the NLCS, the Cubs were swept by the Mets.

All that said, Maddon is all about as many Cubs playing in the All-Star Game as possible -- for their own good, not logistical postseason reasons.

"From your players' perspective, I like when your guys get in and go participate," Maddon said. "I think there's a growth moment there, when you're a young player and you get a chance to participate in an All-Star Game. You definitely feel a little bit better about yourself."

Listen to Maddon's full interview below.