Tonight is the Mid-Summer Classic, Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, the highlight of many summers for us when we were younger, and unfortunately, the game has lost some of its luster due to a variety of things, mostly interleague play.
Another reason is you can see every team’s games now. That’s a good thing, but still, it affects the All-Star contest. Back when we became a fan of baseball, the All-Star Game and the World Series were the only time you got to see the great players in the National League.
And growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, the NL dominated play winning every game from 1963-1970 and 1972-1982. The Senior Circuit had Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, and Joe Morgan.
Still, as kids, the night of the game was sacred. If you were playing ball, you rushed home by 8 PM to watch all the great players. We remember a few nights where sleepovers were scheduled so you could watch the contest with your friends.
In 1965 (still a day game), the Cleveland Indians had two starters, CF Vic Davalillo and RF Rocky Colavito, Sam McDowell pitched in the game and took the loss in a 6-5 NL win. (The winning pitcher was Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson got the save!).
They were the last Cleveland players to start in an All-Star Game until Manny Trillo in 1983. Trillo was voted in because people knew him nationally because he played for the Phillies prior to being traded to the Tribe in the Von Hayes (five for one) deal.
So, as an Indian fan, our hope was that our player would get in the game. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn’t, and many times it was a pinch-hitting appearance.
Of course, once the 90’s came, the Indians were all over the starting lineups. Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Sandy Alomar Jr. were regulars in the AL batting order.
One painful memory was the 1970 game in which Ray Fosse’s career was ruined in a home plate collision with Rose on the last play. Fosse came into the game hitting .312 with 16 homers and 46 RBI (893 OPS) and was a great defensive catcher as well. He was the AL’s answer to Bench.
After the collision, which resulted in a shoulder injury (we believe Fosse said it was separated), his numbers in the second half fell off to .297 with only 2 home runs and 15 ribbies (713 OPS). Fosse played until 1979, won a couple of World Series rings with the A’s (’73 and ’74) and broadcasted games for Oakland for many years. But what could have been a great career was destroyed.
We have seen three games played in town. The ’81 game which was marred because it was the first game played after the work stoppage, the ’97 contest during the “Summer of Sandy” when Sandy Alomar came into the game hitting .375 and in the midst of a 30-game hitting streak and then hit the game winning homer to claim the MVP.
And of course, 2019, when Shane Bieber introduced himself to the country, striking out the side in a 4-3 AL win and winning the MVP for the game. Bieber was just 24 and in his second season in the bigs and won the Cy Young Award the next year in the COVID-shortened season.
It’s not the same today for many reasons, but it’s still an enjoyable evening for baseball fans. The only bad thing is we have to wait until Friday for another game. That can be painful.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 