Having a hard time with the Major League Baseball lockout? Yeah – us too. Especially when Spring Training should have started and there are still so many questions left to answer before the season can begin. So, we here at The Turf thought we’d offer a way to help ease that tension. While we may not have any of the current MLB baseball to watch live, there is PLENTY of archive footage available at our fingertips. We’ve scoured the internet and assembled some of the most iconic, noteworthy, and remarkable baseball games we could find. We also found some mundane, run of the mill stories, that seemed banal at first watch. However, at this point, we’ll take anything that resembles an MLB game, right? Until the lockout ends, we’ll feature one of the contests and provide you a link where you can relive the glory, exhilaration, and thrill from the comfort of your couch.
The All-Century All-Star Game
In 1999, the MLB All-Star Game found its way to Boston’s Fenway Park. I was but a wee boy, but I had the opportunity to really take in the glory of the All-Star Game and what is the All-Star Fan Fest. I had the chance to test my arm with radar guns, proving I had a mean 43 MPH fastball. There were batting cages that reminded me I’d never be a power hitter. Then there was the ability to get into the booth and call a moment in baseball history. I chose Nomar’s 3 HR game at Fenway against the Seattle Mariners. Truly had the time of my life.
Then came the game. Given that it was the last All Start Game of the 20th century, MLB pulled out all the stops. They decided to put together an All-Century Team, which only consisted of a couple of then-current players.
But the moment most people remember, above all else, is when Teddy Ballgame was carted out of the center field garage doors. Ted Williams got a glorious moment riding around the warning track of the park he lit up more than five decades earlier. Ken Griffey, Jr. shaking Williams’ hand will be forever engrained in my mind. My all-time favorite baseball player, shaking hands with arguably the greatest hitter who ever lived, and happened to play for my hometown team. It was something out of a storybook.
This game had nostalgia aplenty. And I can’t recommend taking that walk down memory lane more. So, here’s the 1999 All-Star Game at Boston’s Fenway Park. Enjoy.
