Read the opposing arguments from Loyal Homer and Bleacher Fan.
Summer has always held a special place in the hearts and minds of Americans. When we were children it offered a retreat from teachers, homework, and the annoyance of school. In our adulthood it provides a similar escape from the stress and rigors of dealing with work, bills, and, in general, adult responsibilities. The magical moments made possible by more daylight and warmer temperatures may not be measureable, but they are very real. For a sports fanatic like me, summer comes to a fevered pitch for two days in July with the pinnacle of all Summer sporting events.
With the patriotism of the Fourth of July still fresh on our minds, Americans turn to their national pastime to be treated to one of the most grandiose displays in all of sports. Two days of clutch hits, eye-popping Web Gems, and jaw dropping long ball blasts that reward the baseball faithful, and convert the nonbelievers. It is two days of, unequivocally, the most anticipated and greatest sporting event of the summer. The two days are the MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby.
The marquee event itself, the MLB All-Star Game, is truly fantasy baseball in the real world. Fans get to see what an N.L. infield of Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, David Wright, and Hanley Ramirez is capable of, or the A.L. lineup containing the potent fire power of Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez, and Alex Rodriguez. But, the All-Star Game is not just a glorified batting practice. Elite level pitching gets its chance to shine as well. Fans are treated to watching many of their favorites and frontrunners for the Cy Young Award engage in matchups against the best hitters in the game. In the same respect, All-Star rosters contain mind-blowing bullpens that include shutdown closers like Joakim Soria, Jonathan Papelbon, and Mariano Rivera in the AL. and Jonathan Broxton, Francisco Rodriguez, and Trevor Hoffman in the N.L. The All-Star Game is a virtual cavalcade of the best players in baseball. The greatest pitchers and batters converge on that one night creating lasting memories of one unforgettable experience.
Like baseball itself, the All-Star Game has a rich history. The game isn’t just about what might happen, but what already happened. The Great Bambino hit the first home run in All-Star Game history during the 1933 game. Just 16 years later, number 42 continued to break barriers as he and three other African American players integrated the All-Star roster. Some 50 years after the tradition of the All-Star Game began there had never been a grand slam, but the California Angel’s Fred Lynn hit the game’s first. And he did it in Comiskey Park, the same place the game began, and where Babe went yard half a Century before. Even in the modern millennia the game reaches new heights. In 2007 Ichiro hit the first inside the park homerun in the game’s impressive history. As records get broken and history gets written, fans are treated to one of the greatest displays in all of sports. The All-Star game is simply a can’t-miss event.
As exciting as the All-Star Game is, it is preceded by an event of equal magnitude – The Home Run Derby. The Derby is pure excitement. What do people like about baseball more than a home run? Absolutely nothing! The home run is the most exciting aspect of baseball, and the derby puts it on center stage. The shock and awe display of batting firepower leaves fans breath-taken. Players don’t just hit homers at the derby; they perform superhuman feats, smashing balls into the Summer night. In 2002 “Slammin” Sammy Sosa mashed the longest dinger in the history of the Home Run Derby, sending the ball on a 524 foot one way trip. In 2005 Bobby Abreu surprised the fans at Comerica Park in Detroit by shattering records hitting a massive total of 41 homeruns into the Detroit night. It turns players and casual fans alike into children again. Little boys that marvel at the greatest hitters in the game doing what they do best. Grown ball players ask each other to pose for pictures and sign autographs. They even overlook team and divisional rivalries to represent baseball and their league. It is one great night for baseball, and one great night to be a fan.
The best part of the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are the unexpected storylines. In 2008 the All-Star Game and Derby returned to New York for Yankee Stadium’s swan song. Everyone expected Yankee Stadium itself to steal the show as the Yankees spared no expense to give Baseball’s Cathedral the type of send off the hallowed grounds deserved. But another story dwarfed any story the baseball world was pushing. Josh Hamilton did something special during the 2008 Home Run Derby.
Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, who was once banned from baseball and struggled through multiple stints in rehab, seemed to be living his dream, and America was there to witness every emotional minute of it. On that one night in Yankee Stadium Hamilton let the world see how far he had come. Hamilton’s fight against substance abuse nearly cost him his baseball career, and more importantly, his life. But the world saw him overcome his personal demons one swing at a time. With his old (and I mean old) BP pitcher Claybon Council throwing to him, Hamilton established himself as one of the premier sluggers in the game. He hit an astonishing 28 homers… in one round. Hamilton’s historic shots surpassed the previous benchmark of 24 established by Bobby Abreu in 2005. Hamilton also hit the third longest home run in derby history, a 518 foot blast. The big story of the night was not the incredible number of home runs Hamilton hit, but the unforgettable tale of redemption that it represented.
Completely spent from the first two rounds, and his 71-year-old pitcher Council still somehow hanging on, Hamilton finished in second place overall, but walked away as the peoples champ and clear winner on the night.
Each year’s All-Star Game and Home Run Derby bring the opportunity for stories like these to be written. This year, when the greatest players in baseball converge on Anaheim California, another unscripted, miraculous story will develop. You don’t want to miss it.
Posted by Babe Ruthless 
