Baseball All-Star game

With Mike Trout winning the MVP award at this year's MLB All-Star game, it reminded me of an experience I had with my cousin Darin ("Devin") in 1989. My dad scored tickets to the All-Star Workout Day at Anaheim Stadium on 7/10/89. We got to watch all the stars do batting practice and participate in the skills competition from awesome seats right behind home plate. Back then, it wasn't just the HR derby. There was a competition between catchers on the accuracy of throwing out runners at second base. Benito Santiago of the National League won. The next competition was a relay from the outfield to home. The NL team of Andre Dawson, Barry Larkin/Ryne Sandberg, and Mike Scioscia were the winners. Unfortunately Larkin was injured during the competition, which might explain why it was dropped. The NL also won the Home Run Derby, with Ruben Sierra of the Rangers and Eric Davis of the Reds leading the field with 3 HRs each. The format was different from today, with the focus being on the league total rather than the individual winner. Like a true Allred, my dad took lots of pictures which we divided up afterwards. The most prized picture was a sweet shot of Bo Jackson, who ended up winning the MVP award the next day. It was a fun day!