While the Home Run Derby and All-Star game have come to the close, the highlight reels, sentimental moments, and talk about what the future holds for MLB is just starting. The American League managed a 4-3 win over the National League to make it their 7th straight Midsummer Classic win. Fun Fact: Dating back to 1997 the American League has a 18/23 record in the Classic; while the 2002 All-Star game ended in a tie. But I’m not here to recap, I’m here to tell you why this year’s Midsummer Classic and Home Run Derby was so special; and some of these reasons are not baseball related.
- The Future of Major League Baseball is brighter than ever. You saw the unbelievable talent young stars brought to the Home Run Derby. Yes, I’m talking about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays) breaking the record not once but twice is insane. Not to mention Joc Pederson (Los Angeles Dodgers) finding the bar every time Guerrero Jr. set it in the 2nd round until the last stretch where Pederson came 1 shy of tying Jr. for another tie breaker. Guerrero Jr. hitting 40 home runs in the 2nd round to knock off Pederson’s 39 homers. Then you have Ronald Acuña Jr. with a very colorful spray chart hitting everywhere on the field, and not just pulling everything. Lastly for the Home Run Derby, the finalists for the HR Derby were both Rookies . . . Pete Alonso (New York Mets) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays).
- The moments shared on the field that wasn’t just baseball. The shocking death of 27 year old pitcher Tyler Skaggs (Los Angeles Angels) shook most of the organization as a whole. At the All-Star game both sides had the number 45 patched on their jersey in respect of Skaggs. Before the game a moment of silence was requested for the loss of not just the Angels but Major League Baseball. Then during the middle of the 5th inning the players and crowd “Stand Up to Cancer” signs all over the stadium arose to show people who they are standing up for. While the camera pans through the crowd and players it gets to a very special Indians pitcher, Carlos Carrasco (Cookie). When the camera focused on him and his sign read “I Stand” surrounded by fellow teammates with signs that read “I Stand With Cookie” the crowd erupted in support. Both of these moments were very touching, and meant a lot to the players and fans.
- The Comedic Atmosphere in Progressive Field was like no other. If you didn’t tune in to watch the All-Star game you sure did miss out on the mic’d up sessions Joe Buck and John Smoltz were having with the players. When you have moments like that with the players you see how much they really enjoy the game. You see players laughing at themselves striking out, throwing a bad pitch and just turning around and laughing it off, etc. It truly shows you that some of the best still treat it like a game and not a job sometimes. But, I would say the All-Star game is the best game to get “silly” and “goof-off”.
While there are many other contributors to why the 2019 All-Star game is one for the books. I wrote down the key ones that stuck out to me. The future of baseball is very bright. Just imagine next year’s Midsummer Classic, it’s just going to get better from here.
KA Sports Talk 