In the Clubhouse and On the Field Before the All Star Game

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.

My All-Star Experience - The Players Arrive

My days in the clubhouse reached a fever pitch about this time 34 years ago. I picked the right year to become batboy—the year Seattle hosted its first Major League All-Star Game. As the visiting clubhouse batboy, that meant that I would perform batboy duties for the National League All-Stars.

The players started filtering in a couple of days before the game. Players and their equipment would arrive at all hours of the day and night. This began a three-day stint of living in the Kingdome for me. Bags would arrive from a foreign city and team. I would look in awe at the arrival of these players from the "other" league.