Seems like the older I get, the more removed I am from the game played on the field. This is how I remember the All-Stars: And this is the way it is now: I understand everything these days is about selling merch, which is what further separates me from today’s fan. I love thumbing through […]
Tagged as:
All Star Game,
Baseball All-Star Game
Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]
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All Star Game,
Bang the Drum Slowly,
baseball anecdotes,
Baseball Cards,
baseball fiction,
Chaim Potok,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Mark Harris,
oral history,
San Francisco Giants
I love it when worlds collide, that is when two or more of my favorite things meet. In this case, I’m talking about the July 17 edition of the Pop Culture Happy Hour, one of my go-to podcasts. It’s what I always listen to on my way home from work on Fridays (on my way […]
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All Star Game,
Kansas City Royals,
NPR,
Pop Culture Happy Hour
This originally appeared on my other blog, but I didn’t feel like reinventing the wheel, so… How abut that kid? Joc Pederson came within one home run of winning in his very first appearance. From an ESPN story: It was Pederson who had put on the best show of the night, crushing 13 mammoth homers […]
Tagged as:
All Star Game,
Home run derby,
Joc Pederson,
Richard Sandomir,
Todd Frazier
Unless you’re too injured. I don’t know about you, but I think the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game is a colossal waste of time. As power-hitting professional athletes, hitting batting practice speed balls, you should expect them to hit it over the wall. But the upshot is injury. The Colorado Rockies’ Justin Morneau, […]
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All Star Game,
Chris Berman,
Home run derby,
Justin Morneau
We have reached the time of the year where everyone (players, managers, sports media, fans) grouse about the All-Star game. Primarily it’s because their favorite player was snubbed, or that some standout veteran on his way to retirement should get one last hurrah on the national stage. The debates are (seemingly) endless. Just to point […]
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All Star Game,
Cincinnati Reds,
Dusty Baker,
Pablo Sandoval,
Tony LaRussa
(Because you can put the trophy on a bookshelf.) Forget about the actual outcome… Bobby Valentine called veteran Red Sox favorite David Ortiz, Jose. Really, Bobby? Done your homework, I see. Isn’t anyone else tired of Berman’s “back, back, back, back, etc.” on every…single…shot? Can he get any more enthusiastic? Isn’t it time for a […]
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All Star Game
Well, perhaps not everybody… With apologies to Sly and the Family Stone. In honor of the annual contest — held this year on July 13 in Anaheim — I run this little Q&A with Lew Freedman, author of The Day All the Stars Came Out: Major League Baseball’s First All-star Game, 1933, (McFarland). * * […]
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All Star Game
From a post originally posted following the All Star Home Run Derby contest: By the way, can we get some love for Hamilton’s pitcher, Clay Council, age 71? From Bleacherreport.com prior to the contest: Several years ago, Josh Hamilton made a promise to his American Legion batting practice coach back while he was still in […]
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All Star Game,
Josh Hamilton,
Roy Hobbs,
The Natural baseball movies
I usually don’t get overly sentimental about the game, especially the purple prose of those sportscasters around World Series and All-Star Game time, when they go off about the majestic history of the national pastime, etc. But 2008 marks the final season of Yankee Stadium (and Shea, let’s not forget about Shea). As such the […]
Tagged as:
All Star Game,
FOX