Open Letter to MLB: 1 Thing you Need to Fix at the All-Star Game
The 92nd mid-summer classic was last night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The American League came out on top 3-2. But the story of the night was the horrific uniforms the players wore.
The American League extended their All-Star Game winning streak last night to 9 years over the National League. The NL jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. But Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton blasted a mammoth two-run home run to tie things up before Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton added a solo homer to put the AL in front to stay.
The American League pitching staff shut down the NL the rest of the way, as they didn't allow a hit between the first and eighth innings.
Some local highlights:
Yankees OF Giancarlo Stanton - 1/2, 1 run scored, 1 HR, 2 RBI, Game MVP
Yankees C Jose Trevino - 1/2
Blue Jays P - Alek Manoah - 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 3k
Yankees P - Nestor Cortes - 1 IP, 0 hits, 2k
But there was one thing that I couldn't take my eye off of during the game. Those God-awful uniforms. One of my favorite parts of the MLB All-Star game was seeing the players on the field, with their individual team uniforms. The NFL, NBA, and NHL all had gone to the generic All-Star uniform, and MLB was our last hope to see the once-a-year unique spectacle of 30 different clubs being represented by 30 different uniforms. And MLB commissioner Rob Manfred ruined it.
Watch that video. Look at all the AL players in their road greys. Look at all the NL players in their home whites. That's the way it should be. Baseball in its purest form. At least this year's version was better than the first time they did this, as the team's logos were incorporated into the jersey, but it's just not the same.
Maybe I'm a traditionalist, maybe I'm getting old and this is my 'get off my lawn' moment, but I think that the uniforms used last night were just awful. The batting helmets were the icing on the suck cake.
Apparently, I'm not alone in my thinking. New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone thinks that the pinstripes are a better look on the players.
So dear Major League Baseball, bring back individual team uniforms to the All-Star game. The way it was meant to be.
92nd MLB All-Star Game
Sahlen Field (2021) - Buffalo, NY
Yankees vs. Blue Jays