Time to reflect on some All-Star moments

ARLINGTON, Texas – The lights on the 2024 baseball season are dimmed for a few days. Teams can conduct business, but they aren’t playing until Friday.

The trade deadline is July 30. Trust me, they haven’t shut down completely.

The 94^th All-Star Game is history, with the American League winning 5-3 in 2 hours and 28 minutes, the quickest since 1988. Letting the Rangers host at Life Globe Field provided coverage.

A roof, I mean. The media was gonna cover it anyway.

The high temperature yesterday was 102 degrees, edging out Baltimore if the weather app on my phone was accurate. And this was an issue on Monday with unnecessarily long lines to pick up credentials and to enter through the media gate.

That’s two different lines with my total time spent in them approaching 90 minutes. People behind me were late to the 1 p.m. press conference with the managers and National League starter Paul Skenes.

Just spitballing here, but maybe open more windows at credential pickup. The World Series was played here last year. This wasn’t the first big event.

The nose-bleed press box level made it much harder to get into the Home Run Derby. The excitement faded by the time it reached us. Just too detached at the sixth level of seating.

Camden Yards would be ideal for those of us who didn’t succumb to heat stroke.

The Rangers won’t be hosting for a long time after also getting the All-Star Game in 1995 at one of their old ballparks. I’ve lost count. Let someone else have a turn.

And about Camden Yards …

It had to be written yesterday based on the topic, but commissioner Rob Manfred confirming the Orioles’ interest in hosting the All-Star Game didn’t qualify as breaking news. It couldn’t break tissue paper.

The club filed an application, which was “in flux,” per Manfred, after the ownership change. I heard over the years that the Orioles didn’t make a hard push for it, which some people confirmed and others disputed. But what’s clear is, yes, they want the game. And yes, they are a viable option, which Manfred says every year.

To borrow one of my favorite phrases, let’s tap the brakes again. The interest alone won’t get the event to Baltimore or it would have happened.

“That would be awesome,” said shortstop Gunnar Henderson. “I think the last time was, what, ’93? Is that right? Being able to see videos from there, that’s pretty sweet. The All-Star Game obviously had some all-time greats playing in it, so some history there. It would be awesome to do that again.”

“It would be awesome,” said infielder Jordan Westburg. “Hosting would be great for the city, great for Camden Yards. And if we played well enough to be part of it, that would be even cooler. I know the fan base would really enjoy it, having it back there.

“What we all think about, or at least what I can remember, is the Ken Griffey Jr. homer in the Home Run Derby, so it would be cool to have one of those again.”

Griffey hit the warehouse in 1993. No one has done it during an actual game.

Maybe Henderson could take a crack at it.

“That would be cool,” he said. “Griffey did it and that was a pretty awesome accomplishment. I’m sure there would be a couple more.”

The one nugget from Manfred that warrants bold lettering is him saying the Orioles don’t need to complete renovations to the ballpark to make hosting a reality. Maybe the club wants to show off the finished product, but at least it isn’t a deal-breaker for Major League Baseball.

“Oh gosh, I can’t even imagine how much fun that would be,” said catcher Adley Rutschman. “That would be just like the best. I think just having all the home fans there and stuff would be really cool. I know it would be such a special experience.”

Last night’s game notes contained a typo that had the Rangers hosting in 1993. The Orioles seriously cannot catch a break.

Atlanta and Philadelphia are the next two host cities, so we’re talking 2027 before the Orioles have an opportunity. And a Toronto-based reporter asked Manfred about the Blue Jays, whose last turn was 1991. The Cubs go all the way back to 1990.

I’ve covered games at Wrigley Field and I have no idea how that ballpark would manage it. The confines aren’t always friendly.

The All-Star uniforms were typically hideous last night, and especially the American League. Slow-pitch softball? A men’s beer league? A bad Disney movie? Exactly what look were they going for this year?

Manfred said his office is having “conversations” about the uniforms as more people scream for the return of major league team jerseys.

It excited me as a kid when I’d tune into the game and see Orioles uniforms mixed with Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics, etc., and the National League with rival Reds and Dodgers. I don’t wanna see Reggie Jackson hitting the light tower at Tiger Stadium while wearing pajamas.

Another takeaway from the past few days is how much Corbin Burnes is “the man.”

The guy saunters into Baltimore on an expiring contract and makes his fourth All-Star team. His 2.43 ERA is the lowest for an Orioles pitcher through the first 19 starts of a season since Jim Palmer’s 2.31 in 1978. It’s a team record for lowest ERA through the first 19 career starts.

American League manager Bruce Bochy names Burnes the starter, and he flies into Dallas the morning of the game, walks the red carpet alone, strands a couple runners in the first inning and jumps on a plane home.

Burnes is 100 percent the guy that the Orioles expected after trading for him. He’s a dude and a dad. And he’s still got a Game 1 start coming in the playoffs.

That’s right, I’m talking playoffs.

Seeing Rutschman and Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. briefly as teammates is another reminder that the top two picks in 2019 were as close to sure things as you’ll find in a draft.

They are forever linked.

“I think it’s great,” Witt said. “He’s unbelievable doing what he’s doing. He controls what he can control. You can’t control anything that happened in the past.”

The Orioles and Royals aren’t trying to change it.

Oakland reliever Mason Miller could be pitching in Sacramento next season if he isn't traded. Seems appropriate since they both bring the heat.

About the city, Manfred said that he's aware of the potential problems with teams playing in temperatures above 100 and with no protection from it. He mentioned something about cooling the artificial surface and trying to set up the schedule with shorter travel on getaway days that would reduce the number of afternoon matchups.

About the closer, he tossed a perfect fifth inning and struck out Shohei Ohtani and Trea Turner. His 103.6 mph fastball to Turner is the fastest pitch in an All-Star Game since tracking began in 2008.

Overall, Miller had eight pitches above 100 mph, including 103, 102.4 and 102.3. And he probably should go back to starting because he has five pitches in his repertoire, but he's just so good in this role.

"There were a couple of pitches where I was like, ‘That’s coming in pretty firm,'" Rutschman said. "It definitely comes out of his hand a little different."

The past few days also remind us of the Orioles’ youth and makes us wonder what it’s like to view baseball through their lens. And particularly an All-Star Game.

Jordan Westburg, the third baseman on the ballot who played second, couldn’t pick just one player whose interaction meant the most to him.

“I got to meet a lot of these guys, I got to shake their hands and have thorough and deep kinds of conversations,” he said. “Not just about baseball. Trying to get to know them a little better. I tried to get to everybody. I don’t think I did. But I enjoyed every single conversation I had.”