What are your memories of the Major League Baseball mid summer classic...the All Star Game?
I have several vivid memories of the All Star game from when I was a small kid growing up in the golden era of baseball. It was always HUGE to get to see the guys from the other league who you could usually only read about it the paper and rarely if ever see play on the field.
I remember vividly watching the 1970 game where Peter Edward Rose collided with Ray Fosse giving my HOME team National League (and Reds) a victory over those guys we rarely saw. Guys with names like Carew (Rod) and Ryan (Nolan) and Hunter (Catfish) and Fingers (Rawlie with the funny mustache).
I don't recall if all of those names played in the 1970 game but as American Leaguers they had an unknown mystique about them. It was great to see my National Leaguers win the big rivalry game against the mysterious unkown and obviously inferior American Leaguers. After all ... how good could they be since their pitchers didn't even hit!!
Growing up I idolized names like Rose, Bench, Morgan, Perez, Concepcion, Griffey (Sr)., Foster, Gullet, Billingham, Nolan, Eastwick, Kirby, Carrol, Borbon, Norman, and in my boooooming announcer's voice: Cesaaaaaar Geeeeronimo!!!
The Big Red Machine just never seemed to lose. It was always great to see them play in the All Star game. It cemented their place as stars in my young mind and when they contributed in a major way in the game itslef it was even better.
So...back to my list of memories:
1) Rose bowling over Ray Fosse (not that I'm a fan of what happened to Ray Fosse so before you flame me keep in mind it's what I remember about the game)
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2) A guy from that other leage hit an absolute moon shot monster home run off of a light tower. A FRIGGIN LIGHT TOWER!
I think it was in Detroit. They guy's name...none other than Mr. October: Reggie Jackson.
3) Joe Morgan hitting a single in an extra inning game to win it again for the National League
4) Being up VERY VERY VERY late at night and watching Tony Perez slam a home run off of that CATFISH guy from the other league in the 15th inning of the game to win it for my national league heros.
5) As a part of the pre-game I remember them playing a video clip of the old black and white Lou Abbot and Bud Costello routine called "Who's on first?". I laughed myself completely silly over that! I think I was about 7 or 8 years old at the time.
I think what I like to remember most are the great names of the tradition that is baseball. We can talk about all that's wrong with the game in other threads. To me growing up watching the last of the great pure era of baseball I feel very fortunate that in addition to my Reds to have come to know names like:
Hank Arron, Carl Yazstremski, Bobby Bonds, Carlton Fisk, Lou Brock, Jim Palmer, Leo Duroucher, Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Louis Tiant, Blue Moon Odom, Don Sutton and speaking of the Dodgers how about their 70's line up:
Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russel, Ron Cey, Steve Yeager, Dusty Baker, Reggie Smith, Bill Bucker, and Sutton is the only pitcher I can remember. Wait...Al Downing because of a Henry Arron home run
The list of great names from baseball's past obviously goes on and on and on. The Mid Summer Classic is upon us once again and I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. The game has changed but then again so have I.
Yeah....I'm still a FAN!!!
So --- pony up peeps...what are you memories of the All Star Game's gone by?