The All-Stars had arrived and the Kingdome became
the center of the baseball universe for three days. This was not the All-Star
experience of today. Keep in mind, this was 34 years ago, the spectacle of the
All-Star Game would grow over the next couple of decades. There was no Home Run
hitting contest, no futures games or fan-fest.
The events leading up to the contest consisted of
a batting and infield practice open to the public—that's it. No television
directed drama, just a simple practice. Still, 15,000 people showed up for that
event. It was cool for me, because I got to shag balls in the outfield during
the batting practice, alongside greats like Dave Parker, George Foster and Dave
Winfield.
