It's that time of the year again- no, not time to set off all those leftover illegal firework from July 4th so you can set your neighbor's house on fire- it's time for the Baseball All Star Game/Home Run Derby!
And why is it extra-special this year? Coz this year it's held in one of the most amazing cities in the world... you're right! It's here in San Francisco!
I admit that the atmosphere could have been a tad bit more festive had the Giants not been dead last in the NL West, but hey, the season's only half way there, and what couldn't be fixed by a little steroid and growth hormone, right? (OK, sorry, no more Barry Bonds joke, he totally deserves to be left alone)
I mean, seriously, where else in the world could you say, "Come on! Honey, junior! Paddle hard! We've got a baseball game to catch!" (Photos of fans paddling to and congesting McCovey Cove, the famous body of water behind the San Francisco AT&T Baseball Park where many "splash hit" long balls are caught, and even more poor souls dived into the freezing water only to come up with a handful of seaweed, courtesy of SF Chronicle)
Singing Take me out to the ball game with 30,000+ of your best friends on a beautiful summer evening like this one, that's how I fell in love with the game... how could you not? (OK, we weren't there tonight, but we imagined)
So, Vladimir Guerrero won the home run derby today, and tomorrow's the All-Star show down. All that's great, but I'm just glad that our beautiful and slightly eccentric city gets to be showcased on this national stage- now you know why we pay an arm and a leg to live here- you wouldn't want to live anywhere that you couldn't paddle to a baseball game, would you?
