2009 All Star Game

Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved the All Star Game. I know that there are baseball fans out there who don't agree, but it used to be the part of the season I looked forward to the most. That was back when the Red Sox were not very good. Indeed, when I started watching the team, the Red Sox were actually losing more than they won. The first All Star game I remember really watching was in 1993 when Scott Cooper was the team's only All Star. Yes, the immortal Scott Cooper. He would also be the team's only All Star in 1994, making him quite possibly the worst player in MLB history to be an All Star twice.

In my years of watching the event, I have seen All Star MVPs go to Pedro Martinez and J.D. Drew for the Red Sox, and home runs from David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Drew. I have seen some impressive performances, Martinez was absolutely electrifying in 1999. The players that have represented the team in the years I have been watching have been: Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Jeff Reardon, Scott Cooper, Mo Vaughn, Erik Hanson, Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, Tom Gordon, Jose Offerman, Carl Everett, Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, Shea Hillenbrand, Johnny Damon, Ugueth Urbina, Jason Varitek, David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Matt Clement, Mark Loretta, Jonathan Papelbon, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, Hideki Okajima, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, J.D. Drew, Jason Bay, and Tim Wakefield.

So last night's game was pretty good. It was definitely short, barely over two and a half hours. The Red Sox performances were pretty decent: Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis each had base hits and Jonathan Papelbon had a 1-2-3 inning. My major disappointment though was that Tim Wakefield was not put in the game. He was certainly well-rested. It was disappointing because Wakefield is 42, soon to be 43, and this was his first time. He probably will not have another chance. It's too bad. Josh Beckett and Dustin Pedroia also failed to get in the game, although Pedroia was not present, choosing to be with his wife.