All-Star

I am watching the All-Star game tonight and it has brought back many memories of the annual Mid-Summer classic. Growing up in the 80's, I always looked forward to two of my favorite players, Ozzie Smith and Ryne Sandberg, start as the NL double-play combination.

The first game I remember watching all the way through was in '87. I watched the whole game through the 9th inning, but, since I was only 10 at the time, my parents made me go to bed afterwards although the game was still a scoreless tie.

When I woke up in the morning, I raced down to check the box score in the paper and the write-up. It was a bittersweet moment as I saw that Tim Raines drove in the winning runs with a triple in the 12th inning. I was happy that the National League won, but Tim Raines was one of my least liked players because he was the main competition for my favorite player, Vince Coleman, in stolen bases.

I remember a few other big moments since then, Bo Jackson's homer, Cal Ripkin winning the MVP, but most of them have been AL highlights. As the game continues tonight, into extra innings, games don't seem as important to me. I think some of the players from my childhood loom larger in legend. It was wonderful to see the introductions with all of the Hall-of-Famers, including Ozzie and Rhyno. And I will tell my children some day about seeing futer Hall-of-Famers Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and especially Albert Pujols.