The big day – The All Star Game. It was a long day with many activities and autographs.
I was able to go to the Fan Fest first thing in the morning, but I thought it was kind of lame. Maybe it was because my kids were not there (even if they were, they would have been too young to truely enjoy it). There was a lot of family friendly activities, which is prefectly fine. I was hoping for more autograph signings, and a little more freedom with them. Some autograph stations would only allow former players to sign 8×10 photos that were provided by the event. The photos were not great, but they were at least free.
I was able to get in the Bob Feller line right away – I’d gotten him on a baseball in the past, but had the print that Reggie Jackson signed for him to sign as well. He was very friendly as usual; that can be frustrating though, because the line took forever to move because he’d talk with everyone in the line.
After walking around for a while, we made our way to the Rollie Fingers line. His line was longer, but he didn’t spend the time talking to everyone. In fact, he didn’t say 2 words to us.
After Fingers, we decided to go to the stadium and get in line. It was probably 11:00 in the morning when we got there, but people were waiting already. It was also the end point for the All Star Parade. My buddy waited in line while I walked around. Across from the stadium is a softball field and open area (it was supposed to be for condos, businesses, and restaurants, but they’ve had problems getting it started) that housed family activities. I noticed a line and found out it was for a Lou Brock signing. I also found out that the line had been cut off. Luckily, I found one of the Busch Stadium autographing regulars in line and he let me jump in. All Brock was signing was provided 8x10s, but it’s better than nothing. I would have rather had the score cards from his 2800 hit, 900 stolen base, and 3000 hit signed. The 8×10 was a crappy picture too.
I went back to the stadium in time to see Harold Reynolds walking along the parade route. He was signing as he went. I also found St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball columnist and HOF sports writer Rick Hummel and got his autograph.
The Parade started a little while later and all of the players came past our location – they were dropped off almost where we were at. Had gone closer to the drop off point, we could have gotten a lot of players as they were going in. Instead, we kept our spot in line. That worked out pretty well because I got the one of the best spots for autographs in the stadium. We were right behind the Fox Sports and ESPN cameras, and were featured in the opening to Sportscenter. We tried to get Dave Winfield, John Kruk, and Peter Gammons to sign, but all ignored us. David Cook, LL Cool J, and Sheryl Crow all signed near us, but I wasn’t interested getting them. Soon, the NL players started to come out an take BP. I was on the AL side, and some of their players started to filter out. Kevin Youkilis came over and signed a bunch, followed by Nelson Cruz. Derek Jeter signed a few down from where I was at, as did Michael Young. I was able to get Josh Hamilton and Ben Zobrist before the ushers started to kick people out.
The pre-game festivities started, which end up disappointing me. The Cardinals had a great chance to honor Stan Musial (like the Red Sox did with Ted Williams 10 years ago), but instead Fox dictacted that most of the early time be directed to the MLB volunteer program All Stars Among Us. I have no problem with recognizing volunteers, but it really didn’t have anything to do with baseball other than being sponsored by MLB. They also had an awesome Miltary tribute, with members of the Navy stationed though out the stadium to shoot off streamers. After Sheryl Crows National Anthem, the stadium was buzzed by a Stealth Bomber.
The President’s first pitch was well done. Some people were complaining that he didn’t come out in Cardinals clothing, but that’s rather absurd, since all MLB teams are represented here. It was crazy seeing all the Secret Service Agents around the stadium – they even had sniper rifles on the top for the first few innings. The game itself was pretty uneventful; few hits and great pitching. I was hoping for a NL victory, but the games was cool enough to make up for it.
This was probably one of the 2 best baseball experience I had been to (tied with the final game at old Busch Stadium).
Autos for the Day (9):
Lou Brock (8×10)
Nelson Cruz (ROMLB)
Bob Feller (8×10 Print)
Rollie Fingers (ROMLB)
Josh Hamilton (ROASB – Rawlings Official All Star Ball)
Rick Hummel (ROMLB)
Harold Reynolds (ROMLB)
Kevin Youkilis (ROASB)
Ben Zobrist (ROMLB)
