Nothing makes me feel like a kid more than the All Star game. I think I like it even more than opening day sometimes. I love seeing all the stars in one place and all the different uniforms on the field at once (I was thrilled when they got rid of the all-star uniforms). I do think its a shame that they made it count. There’s nothing all that wrong with having it decide home field advantage except that it takes away from the purity of the game a bit. The game matters because the best of the best are out on the field. I know I’m a purist sometimes, but I have a hard time figuring out why anyone needs more reason to care than simply seeing future hall of famers rubbing elbows with guys who are having career years and will probably never be back.
By my count there are about eleven guys who are guaranteed to be first ballot Hall-Of-Famers in this game and about eight other guys who I think have real good shots at making it. The surefire guys are Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, John Smoltz, Ivan Rodriguez, Ichiro, Trevor Hoffman, Albert Pujols, Vlad Guerrerro, and Manny Ramirez. Those guys are basically mortal locks to get in. Bonds is going to be the All-Time Home run leader, Griffey is going to hit 600+, A-Rod might be the first guy to hit 1000 home runs in the major leagues. Jeter and Smoltz all but defined the post season for the last decade. I-Rod has been doing it so consistently that people take it for granted. It’s not a coincidence that the Tigers made the post-season not long after he got there after years of futility either. Pujols, Manny and Vlad are putting up numbers that make my eyes pop out of my head every time I look at them. Ichiro played for years in Japan before coming to America but it hasn’t taken any of the luster off his career.
Some of the other guys have a ways to go yet but are on the verge of storied careers. Cole Hamels and Justin Verlander are both very young and you can never tell with young guys but I believe every time I seem them pitch. They’re both special and if they can stay healthy it wouldn’t surprise me to see them re-writing the record books over the next 15 years. Johan Santana probably won’t win 300 games but he is so dominant that it isn’t going to matter. Another four or five seasons like his last three and I think he’ll be a no doubter. Chase Utley and Justin Morneau look like they are going to dominate their respective leagues for years as well. Morneau can just flat out hit and Utley is the kind of dirt dog player that will always be popular. He is without question the next great second baseman and might be as good as Sandberg. Jose Reyes is another guy without only a couple of seasons under his belt, but his talent is ridiculous and he may be the most exciting player of his generation. Miguel Cabrerra is another guy who can rake with the best of them.
Seeing all that talent in one place and having as much fun as they appear to be having is simply Midsummer Magic. Before the game Willie Mays came out and tossed the first pitch. Jose Reyes caught it and then went up and asked the Say hey kid for his autograph. Hey, its the All-Star Game, Willie’s game, and everyone is a fan.
I love Baseball.