The Chris Moeller Archives

Snapshots from the 80th Midsummer Classic

I'm crossing Baseball All-Star Game off my Bucket List. After Tuesday night's visit to St. Louis with my brother Aaron, I'm down to only the journey to Machu Picchu and getting Dennis DeYoung back together with Styx. I'd recommend attending an All-Star Game to anyone who loves baseball or the sight of giant American flags.

- Our seats were in the third level out by the left field foul pole, but I found them perfectly acceptable. In fact, we were seated very near a sports celebrity-- an amateur photographer for Deadspin.com. We didn't know it at the time, but I must have been sitting on his lap because he took this photo of President Obama throwing the ceremonial first pitch, and Aaron took this one with his cell phone.

- It's a good thing we splurged for the seats instead of the cheaper Standing Room Only tickets because the giveaway item was a commemorative All-Star Game seat cushion. They came with the seat, not the admission. I'm going to take mine to all my future jazz festivals. It will be great for my sciatica.

- The pregame "Red Carpet" ceremony outside the ballpark was great fun also. The All-Stars rolled down Market Street and Stan Musial Drive into Busch Stadium, seated with their families in the beds of red pickup trucks. You had to wake up that morning in Missouri to claim a good view of the players, but we successfully located some relatives of David Eckstein to stand behind. In addition to the players, the parade featured the All-Star managers, honorary coaches, Cardinals Hall-of-Famers, and the last pickup in the parade carrying the World Series Trophy. This was an extra special treat for visiting Cubs fans, who got to see what one looks like.

- All six of the Cardinals living Hall-of-Famers were in attendance-- Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, and Bruce Sutter. Also, two of the dead ones-- Frank Frisch and Johnny Mize.

- One of the golden moments of All-Star Week was the celebrity softball game, which was played on Monday. West Des Moines Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson was among those in uniform. (It just doesn't matter where I go, there she is.) The teen charmer did handsprings and a back flip while running the bases, filling in for Ozzie Smith, who was grounded from flipping because of age. Johnson was asked by Major League Baseball to suit up for the visiting "American League" softball team, with officials obviously unaware that Des Moines is actually a National League town in spirit. The "home" softball squad featured the dream infield (from third to first) of Jon Hamm ("Mad Men"), Ozzie, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bobby Knight.

- Speaking of celebrities, Sheryl Crow sang the National Anthem Tuesday night, and during the 7th inning stretch, Sara Evans performed "God Bless America." Major League Baseball was looking to amp up the patriotism just a little bit more, though, so fans watching in the ballpark also got to see Brad Paisley on "America the Beautiful," Avril Lavigne performing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and the Black Eyed Peas belting out "When Johnny Comes Marching Home."

- You can keep your Home Run Derbies. In my estimation, they lack too much of the nuance of the game to be considered interesting. But I do enjoy watching the dozens of kids in uniform roaming the outfield during the Derby fielding all of the batted balls that fall short of the bleachers. They overrun them, lose them in the lights, take bad angles to the balls, and wind up catching about one in five. It's like watching fifty Chris Duncans.

- Three cheers for Ichiro Suzuki. While in St. Louis, the Seattle Mariners outfielder reportedly visited and laid flowers at the grave of George Sisler. Sisler, the former St. Louis Browns firstbaseman, who died in 1973, held the all-time Major League record for hits in a season (257 in 1920) until being surpassed by Ichiro in 2004. Said Ichiro through an interpreter, "I wanted to do that for a grand upperclassman of the baseball world... There are not many chances to come to St. Louis. In 2004, it was the first time I crossed paths with him, and his family (including 81-year-old daughter Frances Sisler Drochelman) generously came all the way to Seattle." This was not only a grand gesture by Ichiro this week, but he coined a marvelous expression in passing-- "grand upperclassman of the baseball world." That's destined to replace the currently-popular phrase-- "old-timey, tobacco-spitting glove-monkey."

- The highlight of the game itself was hometown catcher Yadier Molina driving an RBI single into center field for the Nationals with two outs in the 2nd inning. You wouldn't have been able to tell it on television, but I'm the one that immediately started the "Ya-dee, Ya-dee" chant from up in section 368. I don't know how it does but that stuff just comes to me.

- A lot of Cardinals fans were underwhelmed by the pre-game tribute to the great Stan Musial, but I was fine with it. He seemed quite frail, but he had a nice exchange with President Obama and the other Hall-of-Famers. I'm sure I'll be pissed, though, after I watch the TiVoed telecast of FOX butchering the whole thing.

- I was totally cool too with President Obama wearing a White Sox jacket. I would absolutely be wearing my colors if I was in the same situation, especially at an All-Star Game.

- Obama's pitch to home plate was solid, if not spectacular, but then I heard once that he gets nervous in front of people. The Great Pujols made a nice play on it, reaching out over the plate to keep it from bouncing in the dirt, then denying later that he had to do too much reaching.

- The occasion of a nationally-televised first pitch by a sitting-president inspired an online listing of the worst first pitches ever thrown. I don't know what it is about that Mariah Carey toss in Japan, but that's one of the sexiest things I've ever seen.

- Having the president there certainly helped to make the All-Star Game a memorable experience. I was apprehensive about dealing with the added security, but we rushed through the gate in less than 20 minutes-- bag inspection and cavity search included. Aaron said he had it much worse a couple years ago when he attended Opening Day in Cincinnati. According to his account, he waited in line for an hour and a half only to find out that the president was George W. Bush.

posted by CM @ 9:19 PM