If you like the MLB All-Star Game and you like plenty of action, then you must have liked the first couple of innings of Tuesday night’s game. After 3 and 1/2 innings, the game was over. No more scoring. Plenty of strikeouts—22 to be exact. This was the kind of lengthy game in which you could have gone to sleep early and not missed anything earth-shattering.
Pitching was the name of the game. While there were 13 base hits—8 for the American League and 5 for the National League, there was a stretch in the game where the NL hitters couldn’t buy a hit. The AL didn’t exactly have much offense—the 3 runs came on back-to-back fourth inning homers by the Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton (a two run shot) and Minnesota’s Byron Buxton. St.Louis first baseman Paul Goldschmidt followed the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts’ R.B.I. single in the first inning with a solo home run. Two innings. No more scoring.
Nonetheless, the game was fun for an All-Star Game enthusiast like me. I knew that my cousin’s daughter, a partner in a pretty prestigious LA law firm, had taken her softball-playing daughter to both the Home Run Derby on Monday night as well as Tuesday’s extravaganza. And I have been to two Midsummer Classics, in 1977 and 2008, both in Yankee Stadium; at the latter game my son and I sat in the second row behind the AL dugout where the players came and went to the field and we interacted with the dude in front of us, Al Roker, and his wife, Deborah Roberts.
My ASG experiences go back to my childhood. I watched every game that I could, including both in 1959-1961. On a cross-country trip, we passed the former Busch Stadium on Interstate 44 in 1966 as the game was being played. I was watching on a big screen set up in a hall in a Las Vegas casino when the game was at Shea Stadium in 1964. I can go on and on. You get the point.
The MLB All Star Game was described by Hall of Fame pitcher and FOX analyst John Smoltz as the truest of all All Star games. I cannot disagree with that statement. Even with some gimmickry now to end the games, it still is played at the highest level by the game's biggest stars.
In this year’s contest at Dodger Stadium, certain Hall of Fame pitcher Clayton Kershaw finally started for the ASG. A thrill to begin with, he took in the aura of the event from the mound he has called home for his entire major league career.
Th first batter he faced was the Angels star hitter/pitcher, Shohei Ohtani. FOX, which was broadcasting the game nationally, spoke with the AL Designated Hitter about what he was going to do facing the Dodgers ace. Ohtani said he would swing at the first pitch. Which he did, lining a single to center field.
What Ohtani didn’t indicate was that he would get picked off first base by Kershaw. How do you say in Japanese—embarrassing?
While Kershaw erased the only blemish in his mound appearance, his opponent on the hill wasn’t so lucky. Shane McClanahan, the young Tampa Bay hurler who leads the majors with the lowest E.R.A., was touched up for the run scoring hits by Betts and Goldschmidt.
FOX did have some good moments with its miking up of players. AL pitcher Alex Manoah was exuberant in his one inning of shutting down the NL. The attempt at a conversation between Stanton and fellow Yankees starter Aaron Judge failed when Judge’s microphone stopped working properly. While the dialogue with Stanton continued, Judge could only nod.
I also liked the give and take from the dugouts between the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole and the Braves' Max Fried. Two top pitchers, not pitching in the game, but acutely aware of the joy and importance of being selected to the roster of their respective leagues.
Best of all was the banter between battery mates Nestor Cortes, Jr. and Jose Trevino. We learned the pitches being thrown in advance, with a bit of input on their decision-making. These first time All Stars from the Yankees were having an absolute blast.
Trevino did not take his mike off after the bottom of the inning ended. We had the rare occasion to be a part of his at bat, which resulted in a line single to right field. He was congratulated at first base and he continued to supply us information while he remained on the bases.
As I said, the pitchers were dominant in this game. Outside of the Dodgers’ Tony Gosolin, he of the perfect 11-0 record with an E.R.A. of 2.02, who was roughed up by Stanton and Buxton, and Mc Clanahan, who the NL got to, the hitters were kept in check nicely by big names and emerging stars. Cincinnati’s Luis Castillo, who recently thwarted the high-powered Yankees and is a prime trade target, looked outstanding. Emmanuel Clase from the Cleveland Guardians shut down the NL in the bottom of the ninth, recording 3 strikeouts on 10 pitches. Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins, possessing a 1.76 E.R.A. as a starter, held the AL in check when the NL had the lead. Even David Bender, Pittsburgh’s only All Star, provided a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth.
Undoubtedly the star of stars on this night was Stanton. The slugger, who is 29 home runs shy of 400 in his career, is a Los Angeles native who was a star in baseball, basketball and football, good enough that both UCLA and USC were hot on his trail to play for them. Stanton recalled sitting in the left field pavilion, the Dodger Stadium name for bleachers, in his childhood, even catching a ball or two in the stands when he attended his favorite team’s games.
His 457 foot blast neared the end of the pavilion, a monumental shot on a big stage. As a Marlin, he hit a ball out of the stadium, a feat only accomplished by great sluggers—Fernando Tatis, Jr; Mark Mc Gwire; Mike Piazza (the only Dodger to do so); and Willie Stargell (twice).
FOX failed to make mention of how close this blast came to leaving the ballpark, as did Buxton’s 407 foot blast come near the end of the bullpen on the closer side of the pavilion. For that matter, Ronald Acuna, Jr. hit a ball out of the stadium during Monday’s Home Run Derby, a fact I didn’t know until Friday.
How was FOX’s broadcast? Overall, it wasn’t bad. Announcer Joe Davis, a Dodgers broadcaster when not on FOX, teamed up nicely with Smoltz. Some of the in game interviews and segments were pretty good. They gave it their best shot. Unfortunately, they have to do better.
Decidedly, the viewership is down for the All Star Game. A 4.2 share of the audience is far away from the solid double digit figures of previous years. MLB, in unison with the MLBPA, tinkers with the product to try to regain traction.
But it is the Home Run Derby which has more interest. While Juan Soto, the enigmatic Washington Nationals outfielder who turned down a lucrative contract extension which makes his days in the Nation’s Capital numbered, outlasted rookie Juan Rodriguez to win the crown, it was Albert Pujols who captured the day.
In what will be his last season, the Cardinals slugger, a first ballot inductee into the Hall of Fame in five years, hit just enough balls over the wall to make it to the second round. His fellow stars mobbed him in recognition of what Pujols means to the game. Very touching.
Instant gratification comes with titanic moonshots. As the old saying went, “Chicks dig the long ball.” While that is far from politically correct, the symbolism is there. Ergo, this is why the over emphasis on pitching proves to be boring to fans, and is also why Stanton, with his game-changing homer, won the M.V.P. trophy.
So now we return to the games which count. Yankees fans are apoplectic over the doubleheader loss to Houston and the suddenly mortal play from their team. A trip to recently resurgent Baltimore followed by visiting the NL East-leading Mets at Citi Fieed are no mere cakewalks.
The Phillies, along with a lot of other teams, are chasing Wild Card spots. Very few teams are out of the playoffs as the last 70 games are played. Major trades are upcoming. It’s going to be exciting.
At least for me, for one night, it was an enjoyable Midsummer Not So Classic All Star Game.
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