Sports Then and Now

Over the last three decades, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game has transformed from being simply a game to being a multi-day extravaganza where the game itself is simply one component. For that reason, the game has at times seemed to be anti-climatic, but has still produced some great memories.

After the National League dominated the competition throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including a stretch of 19 victories in 20 games, the rolls have completely reversed in recent years.

The American League has claimed 23 out of the last 30 meetings, including a 13 game winning streak between 1997 and 2009 as well as a current seven game winning streak

In this final installment of the three part series in which we have reminisced about some of the great moments, games and players in All-Star history, we look at the most memorable games of the last three decades. Here are links to part one from 1933-1959 and part two from 1960-1989.

July 10, 1990 (Wrigley Field, Chicago)
The addition of lights at Wrigley Field allowed for the All-Star Game to be played at the storied venue for the first time since 1962.

The lights came in handy as the game endured 85 minutes worth of rain delays, which made it difficult for either team to develop a rhythm or establish a consistent pitching rotation.

The American League used six pitchers and the National League went through nine hurlers in the contest.

The game was scoreless until a two-run double by Julio Franco gave the AL all the runs they needed in posting a 2-0 victory.

July 12, 1994 (Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh)
In one of the most exciting All-Star Games in recent memory, the lead changed hands five times before the National League pulled out the victory in the 10th inning.

The NL jumped to a 4-1 advantage before the AL stormed back to claim a 7-5 lead entering the bottom of the ninth.

After becoming an American tradition following its inception in 1933, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game evolved into the “Midsummer Classic” through some memorable moments in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

The exhibition eventually moved beyond being just a game to include a home run contest and many other activities that gave fans the opportunity to see their heroes in a completely different atmosphere than ever before.

From the very beginning, the All-Star Game was a highly competitive contest that even though technically an exhibition, lacked little in desire by the great players to win the game and claim bragging rights over the other league.

The game began to lose a little of the competitive edge following the inception of free agency in the 1970s. More players were switching from league to league and by the 1980s it started to be more important to give as many players as possible a chance to play, rather than keep your best players out there for the entire contest.

Of course, that strategy culminated with the 2002 game, which had to be called with the game tied in the 12th inning because both teams had run out of players. We will look more in-depth at that game in part three of this series.

In this second installment of the three part series, we will relive some of the legendary moments and games in All-Star history between 1960 and 1989. You can also catch the first installment with memories from 1933-1959.

July 13, 1960 (Yankee Stadium, New York City)
Between 1959 and 1962, two All-Star Games were played each year to provide the opportunity for fans in different cities to see the players up close and personal.

The second All-Star Game of the 1960 season provided a homecoming for Willie Mays, who had not been back to New York City since the Giants moved to San Francisco following the 1957 season.

He didn’t disappoint as Mays led off the game with a single and then hit a home run in the third inning.

Eddie Mathews, Ken Boyer and Stan Musial also blasted home runs for the National League as they won the game 6-0.

Also of note in the game was that it marked the 18th and final All-Star appearance for Ted Williams.

July 31, 1961 (Fenway Park, Boston)
The second meeting between the All-Stars in 1961 marked the first time that the game ended in a tie as the game was knotted at 1-1 when rain prevented the game from continuing after nine innings.

The American League scored first on a home run by Rocky Colavito in the first inning. The National League didn’t score until the sixth inning when Eddie Mathews scored on a hit by Bill White.

Since its inception in 1933, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game has provided fans an annual opportunity to see most of the great stars of the game on the same field. While the game is an exhibition and has withstood periods of indifference by some players, management and fans, it remains a special mid-season moment.

Because of COVID-19, there will not be an All-Star Game played in 2020, marking only the second season without a game (the first was in 1945 during World War II) since the start of the annual contest in 1933.

Though there will not be any new memories this year, there have been many memorable games and moments in the 90 meetings between the top players of the American and National Leagues.

This is the first of a three-part series where we will relive some of the great moments and games in the history of this special series.

July 6, 1933 – Comiskey Park, Chicago
The idea of bringing the top players from both the American and National Leagues together in the middle of the season for one “All-Star” game was initiated by Arch Ward, a sports editor for the Chicago Tribune. The first game was played at Comiskey Park to coincide with Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition.

In a fitting testimonial to his legendary career, Babe Ruth hit the first home run in All-Star history when he lifted a pitch from Bill Hallahan into the right-field stands in the third inning.

The American League went on to win the game 4-2 with Lefty Gomez earning the victory.

Ed Herrmann

The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month was an American League All-Star in 1974 and a solid catcher during his 11 year Major League career.

Ed Herrmann had baseball in his blood as his grandfather, Marty Herrmann, did not allow a run or hit during his one inning of action as a major league pitcher for the Brooklyn Robins in 1918.

Fortunately for Ed, his major league career lasted much longer than that of his grandfather.

After appearing in two major league games (and going 2 for 3) for the Chicago White Sox during the 1967 season, Herrmann returned to the majors for good in 1969 and soon was entrenched as the regular catcher for the White Sox. Read the rest of this entry →

Yasiel Puig has posted numbers in one month that are comparable to what some All-Stars have done all season.

There seems to be a “old school vs. new school” battle brewing as to whether Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig should be named to the National League All-Star team after just one month of stellar play at the major league level.

The old school argument is predictable and perhaps even a bit tired. Even though Puig has breathed life into the previously dead Dodgers and looked like an All-Star almost every night he has been on the field, he should not be selected to the All-Star game because he hasn’t proven himself even for half a season and therefore would be taking a spot away from someone else who has made their mark over the entire first half of the season.

The new school folks point to his amazing talent, .440 batting average with eight home runs and the 17-11 record of the Dodgers since his arrival as justification that the 2013 All-Star Game would not be complete without him being part of the National League squad.

Generally, I tend to fall on the “old school” side of most baseball arguments. I think the Triple Crown is far more significant than WAR and that pitchers should still be judged as much on their win-loss records and ERAs than on their WHIP.

However, when it comes to whether a player with 28 games of major league experience should be in the All-Star Game, I am not quite as regimented in my thinking.

Now, it was only three years ago when there was a similar ground swell around Washington Nationals pitching sensation Stephen Strasburg. Read the rest of this entry →

Have you ever wanted to watch a baseball highlight without going on MLB.com and trying to navigate their ridiculous video section? Well that might not be a problem any longer. Major League Baseball has finally lifted its ban of Major League clips on YouTube. As every other sports league was easily accessible worldwide, the tyranny of Bud Selig wouldn’t allow even a 30 second clip of an MLB game. Now MLB has finally joined the 21st century and has posted full game videos of classic games, and have eased their ban on others posting MLB videos.

One of the best full games MLB had posted thus far is the 1999 all-star game at Fenway Park.

Every Red Sox fan remembers this classic!! Ted Williams is comes out of Center field waving his hat to the crowd, and even the players are in awe of the greatest hitter that ever lived. The when the actually starts, Pedro Martinez strikes out 5 of the 6 batters he faces.

If you have 5 hours to kill, you can always watch game 5 of the 2004 ALCS

And you can even follow it up by watching the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years!

Although the MLB YouTube channel isn’t spectacular, its a start for the league. The NBA, NHL, and even European Football have been big commodities on YouTube, and people all over the world now have the opportunity to follow teams without paying with a limb for an MLB subscription