All-Star Extravaganza

Dave Paisley

Well, what fun it's been having the All-Star game in my home town. The frenzied buildup to what is really no more than a friendly exhibition game is finally over, the adrenaline exhausted in an orgiastic baseball feast. If I was a smoker I'd be tempted to pull one out and light up to celebrate the moment. Was it good for you? Because it was certainly very good for me.

No other sports exhibition game has quite the cachet and the enduring appeal of the annual baseball classic, and it showed here in Seattle. The weather cooperated beautifully. If you're not from Seattle and you saw any of the action on TV you will no doubt have seen just how beautiful the city is when the sun comes out.

It started last Thursday with the opening of the fanfest in the cavernous exhibition hall across the street from Safeco. I never did get a chance to make it in there, due to my tickets being only good for Saturday afternoon when I was otherwise occupied at a wedding. So my first taste of the extravaganza was Sunday at the celebrity/Legends softball debacle, sorry, I mean game and the Future Stars game. The softball was actually a reasonable amount of fun, and would have been more so if they had cut the gimmicks and let the folks play. It was cool watching USA gold medal softball player Lisa Fernandez hum a couple of pitches in there before being disqualified from pitching for being too good. The futures game was something of a disappointment because if you don’t follow minor leaguers with a holy zeal it's tough to really get into it without really knowing who these guys are. Still, it was baseball in the warm Seattle sun.

I'd been looking forward to the Home Run Derby on Monday probably more than the All-Star game itself. Early buzz was that the lineup would be less than stellar this year, and it's true that it lacked McGwire and Griffey. We did have Sosa, Bonds, Giambi and Alex Rodriguez, though. Luis Gonzalez, Todd Helton and Troy Glaus are all legitimate power guys and home town favorite Bret Boone wasn't totally out of place.

The big question was how the Seattle fans would greet Alex Rodriguez. Absolutely merciless and relentless in booing him when he returned to Safeco twice with Texas so far, there were hints that this week we would see a kinder, gentler, more forgiving Seattle. And so it proved. Sure, there were a few boos when he was introduced, and a little monopoly money was tossed from the stands, but overall it was a warm welcome. Maybe Seattle fans are content now that the Rangers are safely tucked 28 games back.

The other pleasant surprise was Jason Giambi's assault on the left field seats in the first round. He hammered some majestic shots into all decks, peppering the second tier Hit It Here Café several times and running up a record single round total of 14 homers. He received thunderous applause from the crowd, making a few fans wonder what he might look like at first base in Safeco next year, perhaps. And with his prototypical DH build, he'd make a nice replacement for Edgar Martinez eventually.

The remainder of the contest was unremarkable, but pleasant enough to watch. Luis Gonzalez played Mr. Consistency throughout the contest and won the trophy handily in the final from Sammy Sosa.

The All-Star game itself was a joy to behold. Just sitting in shade watching a tight game unfold was a pleasure in itself. To be honest, it wasn't that much different than watching a regular season Mariner game of late - sell-out crowd, all-stars on the field (and Seattle stars were absolutely everywhere...) The concessions prices weren't jacked up for the occasion which surprised me a little. On the other hand, they are pretty exorbitant normally. Let's just say that I really enjoyed the game, except the abnormally long between inning breaks for commercials. And here are my awards:

Most touching gesture: Alex Rodriguez, insisting Cal play shortstop in the first inning. Runner-up: All fans at the game got an AL or NL All-Star bobble head doll.

Biggest living legend: Kirby Puckett, honorary AL manager, who is now twice the guy he used to be. Runner-up: Tony Gwynn, who seems to on a mission to match Kirby at the scales.

Best changeup: Troy Percival, who managed to slow a couple of pitches down to 95 mph from his usual 97. Runner-up: John Burkett who managed to throw some pitches slower than the catcher was tossing the ball back to him (clocked in the low 60s a couple of times.)

Best dive: Tommy Lasorda, for almost avoiding Vlad Guerrero's splintered bat as it flew to the third base coaching box. Runner up: Jon Lieber, for coughing up the two homers that pretty much sealed the game for the AL.

Most hilarious moment: Watching Don Zimmer crack up watching Lasorda go arse over elbow. Runner-up: Barry Bonds trying to put a chest protector on Lasorda.

Biggest non-event: Clemens-Piazza matchup as Clemens never came inside and Piazza flied out easily. Runner-up: Pre-game entertainment with an awful lot of drums.

Oh yeah, it didn't hurt that the AL won, and that hometown heroes Freddy Garcia and Kazuhiro Sasaki got the win and save respectively.

about the author

Need All-Star tickets for this year's game? Well Dave Paisley's got a couple of 'em cheap now. Just send money in unmarked bills to drdjp@strikethree.com and they're all yours.