All-Stars in Anaheim
As the 4th of July passes each year, sports fan are fully enthralled in the baseball season. The middle of the season marks many things for baseball. General Manager’s star to look at the standings to see where their team stands, as well as whether or not they are buyers or sellers come the trade deadline. Yet, as each team looks towards the season’s second half, Major League Baseball takes three days out of its schedule to honor their All-Stars.
Unlike the other major sports in America, baseball handles its All-Star game quite differently. Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has put in place a number of rules that has boosted the importance and fan friendliness of the game including that each team must have one representative on the All-Star roster, and that the winner of the game will earn it’s league home-field advantage in the World Series.
Furthermore, the National League has not won the mid-summer classic since New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza won the MVP in the 1996 game. As the winner of the National League pennant a year ago, manager Charlie Manual of the Philadelphia Phillies will look to avenge his team’s World Series loss to Yankee’s manager Joe Girardi tonight.
Red Sox's DH David Ortiz during last night's Homerun Derby.
Featured in the All-Star game are a bunch of familiar faces coupled with some new ones. Yankees Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are making their 13th, 11th and 11th appearance respectively while St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is making his 9th appearance. Among the first time standouts are the starting pitchers Ubaldo Jiminez of the Colorado Rockies who brings his major league leading 15 wins up against David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays who has an AL best 12 wins.
While each league’s roster features 34 top players, only 9 of them get the honor of starting Tuesday night in Anaheim, California. Among these 18 starters is one rookie, Atlanta Braves 20-year-old outfielder Jason Heyward who will unfortunately be replaced by Corey Hart due to injury. On the American League side, the headline is the Yankees double play combination of Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano at shortstop and second base respectively.
The celebration of talent in Anaheim tonight will start with the solemn news of the passing of the New York Yankees longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter will have a recording of Sheppard announcing his name before each of Jeter’s at bats tonight.
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