A rare baseball treat for Dodger Stadium
It's been 42 years since one of the sport's best ballparks has held the marquee game, now it's more than a single-day show
Dodger Stadium opened 60years ago, is currently the largest major league stadium and is widely considered one of the most beautiful ballparks to visit.
It's been the home to 10 World Series, two perfect games and Fernandomania.
But it only has one Major League Baseball All-Star Game in its history. Until this week.
As baseball reaches its midsummer break with the Dodgers well on their way to the playoffs again and the Angels, well, in familiar July territory, the sport's biggest names will show up at baseball's third-oldest stadium that, like many other stars in town, doesn't show its age.
Here are five things to look for leading up to and including Tuesday's game:
1. Long wait ends
Southern California has played host to the All-Star Game four times since it most recently was held at Dodger Stadium — at three stadiums with four different names. Two of those were in San Diego — 1992 at Jack Murphy Stadium and 2016 at Petco Park — and two in Anaheim (1989 and 2010) at whatever the Angels called their stadium at the time.
It's been so long since it was at Dodger Stadium in 1980 that the son of the MVP of that game — Ken Griffey of the Cincinnati Reds — broke into the major leagues nine years later and was inducted into the Hall of Fame six years ago.
Dodger Stadium was supposed to be the site in 2020, but the All-Star Game was canceled that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Have a blast
In 1960, baseball fans were treated to a season of “Home Run Derby,” a television show shot at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field — look it up, it existed — during December 1959. Mickey Mantle beat Willie Mays 9-8 in the debut contest.
No one discussed launch angles or velocity. Fans just watched some all-time