There was a time when the All-Star Game really was the Midsummer Classic and one of the major highlights of the season.
The idea of watching the National League’s greatest stars — Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Koufax and Gibson — strut their stuff against an overmatched group of American Leaguers was truly eye-catching. The collection of talent on the NL side was remarkable and predictable.
The All-Star Game has changed quite a bit from the halcyon days of the 1960s and ‘70s when both sides wanted to win the game and show off league superiority quite badly.
Make no mistake about it, Frank Robinson, Carl Yastrzemski, Al Kaline, and Reggie Jackson wanted to win and end the AL humiliation, but it was simply too much to ask.