Truth be told, I haven’t been a big fan of the All Star Game since Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were making a mockery of the game, cheating their way to eclipsing longstanding records of the all-time greats like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth and Roger Maris. That whole era just turned me off and I had no interest in watching Bud Selig and MLB parade these cheats in a public spectacle that lost its charm so long ago.

That said, because we had three of my favorite Mets in Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Jacob deGrom, all selected to this year’s Midsummer Classic, I felt compelled to watch and I’m so happy I did.

Beginning with what I believe was the best Home Run Derby of all time, I was totally engrossed and captivated with the drama that ensued between Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Joc Pederson and Toronto Blue Jays phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Watching that epic triple-overtime battle was probably the most exciting non-Mets highlight of the last few years. If kids like this are the new face of baseball, I’m all in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rku5ZGku-o

Of course the best part of the Home Run Derby for me, was the incredible gutsy performance by our own Pete Alonso, who won the whole damned thing with an uplifting and dramatic finish. Despite the Herculean 91 home run effort by Vlad Jr., rules being what they are, it was Alonso who would power his way to the trophy and the $1 million dollar prize.

America got to see – up front and personal – what us Mets fans have been delighting in all through the first half of the 2019 season. It was pure magic as Alonso ended the contest with such striking bravado and a charismatic charm that no baseball fan could resist.

The actual All Star Game itself, while not quite as action-packed and memorable as the derby, it hearkened back to a bygone era of those classic AL vs NL battles of the seventies and eighties, complete with a cast of the game’s great young players, all of whom deserved their place in this year’s star-studded contest.

With many of the players wired and mic’d up, the game play itself took on some added entertainment value as we heard the Braves’ Freddie Freeman taunting Justin Verlander just before he took a nasty slider for a called strike three, and the interaction of NL outfielders Christian Yelich and Cody Bellinger yucking it up in the second inning. It was new, it was cool, it was fun, and it just added to the overall enjoyment of the game.

We even got to see all three of our own all-stars play in the game with Alonso finishing 1-for-2 with two RBIs (and a stolen base!) and our ace Jacob deGrom requiring only seven pitches to retire George Springer, DJ LeMahieu, and – the best of the best – Mike Trout in a perfect inning of work.

And speaking of Mike Trout, can major league baseball have a better ambassador and face of the game as this incredible young man? In an unprecedented move, Trout donned No. 45 in tribute to his best friend and teammate Tyler Skaggs, who died suddenly last week and was honored with a moment of silence before the game.

“He always told me he wanted to be in the All-Star Game,” Trout said. “He worked hard, I thought he deserved it last year. But he would always come up and tell me, ‘Hey I want to be with you there one of these times.’ Obviously tonight, he’s with me for sure.”

I did something I haven’t done in over 15 years last night — I watched the All Star Game in its entirety and I’m so glad I did. If this was a glimpse of the future of baseball, it would be fair to say that the fate of our National pastime is in really good shape. Great job by MLB, ESPN and FOX…. You guys gave us a really good show this year.

Message from Joe D.

Being sensitive to other people’s feelings is so important in this age of deep divisions in our country and heightened emotions. Women especially, have had to endure decades of being slighted and unheard, and even today, many are still subjected to underhanded insults to their pride and gender, and that’s something that should never be acceptable or tolerated.

Women’s opinions are no less valuable than their male counterparts and I am a firm believer in our equality on every level. I’m proud to have had some wonderful and talented female writers over the years like Sue Kolinsky, Steph Sheehan, Breanna Susa, and Laney Ortiz to name a few. And our current staff proudly includes the talents of Gianna, Samantha, Marissa and Mia – each of whom are so uniquely creative, brilliant, and fun to read and interact with. We are so fortunate to have them on our team.

Let’s make our world a better place by celebrating our equality and recognizing all the amazing things that bind us together as a society. Thanks for listening…