Strength, perseverance and the beauty of baseball at the 2022 American Association All-Star Game
The two day event at Impact Field showed the best talent in the American Association on July 11 and July 12.
Photo by: Natalia Dagenhart
What can be better than a sports competition where every participant is doing his best to demonstrate his skills, talent and ability to play in a team? Only an All-Star Game that includes baseball players from various teams brought together to show how to build trust and companionship and demonstrate their passion for this beautiful sport.
Formed into two divisions - East and West, the players didn't just compete; they also had fun learning from each other, communicating with each other and with their fans, and proving that a sports competition is in fact the most peaceful and exciting competition that exists in the world. Add to it the beauty of baseball, and you will get the 2022 American Association All-Star Game.
For the first time, the Chicago Dogs hosted a homerun derby and a longest throw contest between the best athletes from the American Association on July 11 and the 2022 American Association All-Star Game on July 12.
When we arrived at the Impact Field on Monday, July 11, it was already full of excited fans. Everyone was anticipating this beautiful event. Fans were able to meet the players, get their autographs and take pictures with them. The weather was comfortable and welcoming. A tough night was ahead of us, but to tell you the truth, people were rooting for the athletes from both divisions and just wanted to have a great time and enjoy the players' great skills.
The homerun derby became a great attraction for those who like to catch balls. There were plenty of balls that night flying in the air, and the huge crowd in the outfield played, probably, as important a role in this event as the athletes themselves (sorry for a slight exaggeration, but actually I am pretty serious now). From my seat behind a net, I was able to safely see a huge crowd consisting both of children and adults constantly moving in the direction of the flying balls and competing to catch them. I heard that there was one boy who got hit with a ball in his stomach. Another person was hit in his face by a ball and had to leave in a wheelchair. It's called assumed risk, which they were ready to take in sake of this exciting sport.
However, the main event took place on the field. In the homerun derby the participants were: Grant Kay - East Team (Chicago Dogs), Jabari Henry - West Team (Sioux Falls Canaries), Jimmy Kerrigan - East Team (Kane County Cougars), John Silviano - West Team (Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks), K.C. Hobson - East Team (Chicago Dogs), Josh Altman - West Team (Lincoln Saltdogs), Keon Barnum - East Team (Milwaukee Milkmen), and David Thompson - West Team (Kansas City Monarchs).
The rules were: single elimination, three rounds (8/4/2), batters had 3 minutes per round for the first and second rounds, batters had 4 minutes for the final round with one 45 seconds timeout allowed, the clock started with the release of the first pitch, a homerun was counted as long as the pitch was released prior to the clock hitting zero, and ties were broken by a 60-second swing-off.
The participating athletes arrived at the field at 11 a.m. to practice and get ready for this competition. It started at 7 p.m., and it was a really breathtaking experience. Each athlete worked as hard as he could, and I could see that it was difficult for them to give interviews after hitting balls over and over again - they used all their energy to hit balls. Here is John Silviano:
After a tough competition David Thompson from Kansas City Monarchs won the 2022 American Association Home Run Derby. Here is part of the winning round:
After that beautiful victory, there was a live music concert presented by local 80's cover band Hi-Infidelity, which became a beautiful conclusion of the night.
The next day, on Tuesday, July 12, the 2022 American Association All-Star Game took place. The gates opened at 5:30 p.m. and the fans had a chance to participate in a pregame catch on the field along with player autographs.
The West scored four runs in the first inning. Kansas City CF Jan Hernandez drove in the first two runs with a home run. After that, Monarchs DH Matt Adams hit a single and Fargo-Moorhead 1B Manny Boscan hit another 2 run home run.
In the bottom half of the first inning, the East came back and scored one run after Milwaukee SS Mason Davis tripled off of Kansas City’s Matt Hartman and then scored on a groundout by Milkmen RF Bryan Torres. After one inning the score was 4-1.
In the fourth inning, Torres and Kane County CF Jimmy Kerrigan each added one run dingers. In the seventh, the East went ahead. Gary SouthShore SS Daniel Lingua and Torres hit singles with two outs. Chicago DH K.C. Hobson then blasted a 2-1 pitch out of the ballpark, which made it a 6-4 game.
In the top of the ninth inning, the West Team was down to their last out with Kansas City C Alexis Olmeda and Sioux Falls LF Wyatt Ulrich on the bases. Sioux Falls Canaries' Jabari Henry slammed a three-run homer to put the West ahead for good, a 7-6 victory over the East on Tuesday night.
Henry was named MVP of the American Association All-Star Game.
Congratulations to Henry, an athlete whose hard work and talent helped his team win!
In part, this game was so great also with the help of Bat Dog Colt, who charmed fans while picking up the bats after the players.
And, certainly, this game wouldn't have been so wonderful without its beautiful fans! We feel sorry that the East Team lost, but it was an exciting game that brought all of us together. After all, friendship always wins!
Natalia Dagenhart
7/13/22
Reference: Baseball America, "Henry Stars As West Tops East At American Association All-Star Game": https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/henry-stars-as-west-tops-east-at-american-association-all-star-game/
This article is also available here: https://patch.com/illinois/desplaines/strength-perseverance-american-association-all-star-game