With the All-Star Game last night and the continued dominance of the American League, perhaps it is a good time to remember it was 25 years ago that ETSU's Atlee Hammaker tipped off the AL dominance by allowing the first-ever All-Star Game grand slam to Fred Lynn.

I remember it well as it was the 50th Anniversary of the All-Star Game and there was tons of hype surrounding it. It was played at Comiskey Park, where the first All-Star Game was, there were plenty of specials on TV around it, Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski were added to the teams in their final seasons, and George Burns even came out on to the field to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch ("I not only sang this song at the first All-Star Game, but I sang it at the first baseball game!").

The other thing is in those days whenever a team loaded the bases in an All-Star Game, all anyone could say was "THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A GRAND SLAM IN AN ALL-STAR GAME!"

And I also am a big, big National League fan who was heartbroken the NL's winning streak was broken. Lynn's homer made it 9-1 and you knew the NL wasn't coming back after that.

At the time, I had no idea Johnson City, Tennessee or ETSU even existed. I kind of liked Hammaker because he was the NL leader in ERA that year but developed arm troubles and never really was able to return from them. He wore one of those "Croix de Candlesticks" on his cap, if I recall, during the game.

Anyway, should we blame Hammaker for the demise of the National League?

Yes we should Pitt.

He started the final downfall of western civilization with that fatal pitch. The NL was never the same. All that was right with the world was forever changed.

The four horsemen of the Apocalypse were unleased. Rap music was created. Women gave up miniskirts. Hamburgers were made with soy in them. You get the point.

Now one of my brothers is an AL fan. He doesn't see it my way. But he is an infidel.

Besides, he (AH) used to strut around campus with 4 babes at a time. I never knew what an "entourage" was until I saw AH.

Now where are the babes Atlee ? They are over at Fred Lynn's house watching reruns of the game.

Ok, so I was jealous about all the babes. Who would not be ?

It was tough to watch that grand slam.

Well, there you go!

And the thing is, Atlee Hammaker did NOT have the looks to merit having four babes.

No.

Well Fred Lynn got an RBI for each of Atlee's tutor-babes. Wish I had tutors like that.