Pee Wee Reese still seeking advice 25 years after his last game.
Forget your World Cup, forget the LeBron James Hour of Decision. Baseball’s All-Star Game has finally arrived. It is, by far, the best all-star game among any major league sport. And, for better or worse, the winning side gets home field advantage in the World Series. Doesn’t make any sense on many levels, but it does add to the importance of the outcome.
I’ve always loved the All-Star Game and in 1983 TBS sent me to cover it for the Coors Sports Page. It was the 50th anniversary of the Midsummer Classic and among the festivities was an old-timers game. As a rule, men the age of your father dressed in form-fitting polyester baseball uniforms isn’t a real draw, but the men inside those uniforms commanded our attention.
How to cover such an event without putting viewers through actually having to watch these once-graceful specimens move at glacial speed around the bases? Here’s what I came up with:
Cultural Relevance Alert: Joe Dimaggio, who played with the Yankees from 1936-51 (and was an All-Star literally every season he played), became a spokesman for Mr. Coffee about 20 years after he retired. Oh no, do I have to explain what a Mr. Coffee is? Go ask your folks.