Historically Speaking: All All-Star, All the Time (Update: Not Really)

All of the All-Star hubbub is really something. Will Leitch aptly summed up the Homerun Derby with this Tweet last night: "The worst part about the Home Run Derby is knowing how profoundly dumb it is, and going nuts for it anyway. Actually, that's the best part." I gotta agree. Hated the thing at first, find myself more invested in at least paying some attention to it with each new year. Whatever. It's Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay as your starters this evening. While you wait around, have a look at some All-Star history, just after the jump.

* A few All-Star games that took place today: The National League took a 5-1 victory in Cincinnati, 1953; same city (different stadium, same winning team, almost the same winning score (5-4) today in 1970; and the American League took care of business today in 1992 with a 13-6 win in San Diego.

* At that 1970 game in Cincinnati, a fellow by the name of Richard Nixon threw out the first pitch, which is pretty cool considering that today, exactly 39 years later, Barack Obama, the president of the United Fucking States of America, will again throw out the first pitch.

* There was another aspect to that 1970 game, one that affected the outcome. The National League's Jim Hickman hit a 12-inning single that scored Pete Rose, who wouldn't be denied: Rose bowled over American League catcher Ray Fosse, jarring the ball loose from his mitt, and fracturing a bone in Fosse's shoulder. Years later, the San Francisco Chronicle put together an interesting piece on the play.

* There would've been another All-Star Game listed in that first bulled point: the 1981 contest. It didn't happen on July 14 as slated, though. Instead, it was postponed due to a 33-day-old player strike and eventually played on August 9.

* In the 1992 contest, the American League generated 19 hits in total, but started the game with seven consecutive singles which produced four runs. Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey, Jr. went 3-3 on the evening, including a home run, earning him the game's MVP. Cito Gaston and Bobby Cox skipped for their respective leagues.

And your Sports Illustrated quote of the day came from the mouth of...



...the 2006 American League All-Star Manager Ozzie Guillen, who, in 2005, was asked about his leadership style. His response: "I don't know if I'm a leader, but I have the biggest mouth."