St. Louis Cardinals: I Love the All-Star Break and Celebrating Baseball

The annual All-Star Break, with all of its royalty and festivities, is well worth interrupting St. Louis Cardinals baseball for four brief days.

The St. Louis Cardinals enter this year’s All-Star Break in unfamiliar territory. Their record remains below .500, and they’re closer to last place in the National League Central division than they are to first place.

For Cardinal Nation, the All-Star Break is usually a time to beam with pride as their beloved Cardinals get some national attention for being once again among the top teams in the Senior Circuit.

This year, it’s different. Two Cardinals (Carlos Martinez and Yadier Molina) are in Miami for the All-Star Game. Neither carry the prestige of the National League’s starting nine. Deserving of the recognition, yes, but top tier, not quite.

Despite the unusual circumstances the St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in as this year’s Midsummer Classic dawns, the symbolic and practical purposes of the All-Star Break remain, and those are worth celebrating.

The All-Star Break gives the die-hard fanatic a brief hiatus to the day-in, day-out grind of the regular season. It provides the opportunity to take the focus away from the team’s record or the division’s standings for a moment.

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All-Stars who share homelands or former jerseys reunite; their families get to enjoy the festivities. The game’s history is put on display for all to celebrate. Fans from across the nation make the journey to represent their team at the Midsummer Classic.

On any given summer evening, thirty Major League Baseball teams compete in fifteen different cities across the country. But for one night, all thirty teams will be under one roof. And all thirty fan bases will have their collective eyes on one city: Miami.

The All-Star Game’s result is now meaningless. But the day-long anticipation for the night game in prime-time brings suggestions of October nevertheless. Soon enough, the warm sunsets and cotton-candy clouds will give way to the brisk, cool air that means only one thing: Postseason baseball.

The Midsummer Classic is by far the best All-Star celebration in American professional sports. It figures to stay that way for a long time.

Next: Possible Roster Moves and Lineup Changes

After enjoying this year’s Home Run Derby and 88th All-Star Game, make sure you tune into our special All-Star Break podcast this Thursday, July 13, at 8:30 pm CT! You can find the link to listen live to the special two-hour show on our website.