The All Star Game

The Mid–Summer Classic

When I was a kid, I absolutely loved the Major League Baseball All Star Game. I looked forward to it because the only time we used to be able to watch baseball games was when our local team had a rare telecast and on the Saturday Game of the Week on NBC. It was right after This Week In Baseball. At the All Star game, we could see all of our heroes and what they were looking like at the time. Baseball and life has changed greatly. We have constant access to so much via the Internet.

Baseball didn't market itself the way it does now. There was no show that told us who the All Stars would be; moreover, there was no vote for the final player. Heck, starting pitchers sometimes pitched more than one inning. It was a different time. The Classic is much different now. Back in the '80s, it was our one chance to see Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines on the same field; Gary Carter and Lance Parrish as the catchers ... Now, we know the players better than we ever have before, but it's a much different game. If I'm correct, when the game was in National League parks, the pitchers batted.

Ah, once again ... what a great game!!!