If I could capture a moment in time and live in it forever, this would be it. Actually, it’s not really a moment. It's a very short period of time that only comes once a year. We are in it! Its mid July, in North America, in the 21st Century. It’s the mid-way point of the summer season. Weather your glass is half full, or half empty, now is the time to make that determination. The bright outstanding colors of the fireworks, the smell of the barbeques, the feel of pools and beaches, the long days and hot nights; it's short shorts, flip flops, and tan lines, and they are all as much ahead of us, as they are behind. But my favorite moment of them all is Major League baseball's marquee event of the summer:
The MLB All-Star game!
Its baseball's yearly traveling carnival. Its the one night of the year that I feel like I'm 12-years old again. Watching all of baseball's greatest heroes in one collective event. What really does it for me is the lineup and introductions just before game time. Players that would kill each other on a normal night, actually standing side by side. Athletics green, along side of Royals blue, and Cardinals Red up against Astros yellow and Rockies purple. All the colors of July fireworks all being worn between the baselines. It's not only the mixture of these great colors complimenting one another, but the games very best players complimenting each other as well. Like the original Thanksgiving was a three-day feast, the All-star game is baseball's three day mid summer feast. Celebrity softball, the Futures game, the Homerun derby, the Fan Fest, and the main event: The All-Star game itself. MLB's American League versus its National League. The game's winner gains home field advantage for the World Series.
It’s not just the game though.
It’s also when all of the season’s story lines all reach their apex. Clear-cut winners and losers have been determined, and now less then 81 games remain for each team to achieve the ultimate goal. Manny Atca is out as Nationals Manager in D.C. Pedro Martinez is in, as the new Phillies starter. Roy Halladay will soon be traded, the Dodgers will soon win 100 games, and soon the Yankees and Red Sox will battle once again. The stakes are higher, quality increased, and the time to say "its early yet" has long since fallen.
One word to describe it all: fun!
It's the middle of the journey! We know where we've been, and we take a moment to reflect. But right now, have no idea where we are going. The road is not written. It may already be over, like the 1990 Cincinnati Reds, who were in first place from opening day, until the conclusion of the World Series. Or maybe a team like the 1978 Yankees, or 2007 Rockies is out there. A team that will make an improbable comeback. A true Cinderella story. Maybe the Mets? Or Maybe the Rockies again? Who knows!
What I do know is that the All-Star game to me is like a moment frozen in time. A moment of the summer I would love to keep in a jar forever. I will be on my
couch tonight keeping score, and relishing in all the moments of the mid summer classic.
