All Star Game

This year's AllStar game was in New York, since this is the last season the Yankees will be playing at Yankee stadium. I've never been a Yankees fan (and in fact am pretty anti-Yankees), but there's a lot of history in that stadium, so I can appreciate holding the AllStar game there, and making it more an an 'event' than usual.

Earlier in the day, there was a parade. I didn't watch the entire parade, but did see the three Twins. Joe Nathan's family is adorable! He brought his wife and little boy with him. Supercute. Morneau was with his fiancee. And Mauer was alone. If it were me, I'd probably have brought my brother. Or my parents. But maybe that's not allowed, I don't know.

Before the game, they honoured some of the living All Stars / Hall of Famers, which I thought was pretty fun. I've mostly followed the Twins (and the Cardinals), so I didn't know many of the players. I mean, I know their names and read about them in the papers, but I didn't *know* them. I was most excited about Ozzie Smith.

Finally the game started. The Twins players did well! Mauer started at catcher and got a hit. Nathan pitched one inning and faced 3 batters. Morneau got a hit and was the winning run. So, all in all, we did good :) And the American League won! So, if the Twins get to the World Series, we'll have home field advantage, yea!

The game was loong. I didn't watch it all. It was a little funny, because both teams were swapping out players early in the game (presumably so everyone would get a chance to play). But of course once you pull someone out, he can't go back in, so the guys who were in in the 9th inning had to play until the 14th inning. Yikes. At first I thought that was odd - the relievers played longer than the starters. But, the starters are fan-chosen, and not always the 'best' players. The relievers are chosen by the coaches, so presumably are chosen for their skill and not necessarily their personas. So, perhaps it does make sense.

What really bothered me, especially in light of all the tributes to Yankee stadium and Yankee history, was the Yankee fans. Obviously msot of the folks in the stands were from New York. And I appreciate that they would cheer extra loud for their guys. I would (and did) cheer loudest for the Twins players. But the fans were actively booing certain guys on the field. I understand rivalries and all that. But really, it's the All Star game, show some sportsmanship. All the players deserve to be there. I felt it was pretty rude.