ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Major League Baseball was still stinging from a strike that had wiped out the World Series the previous season when the 1995 All-Star Game was played in the stifling Texas heat at the Rangers’ new ballpark. Buck Showalter certainly remembers how hot it was when he managed the American League squad then. He also knows how important that game was for baseball.
“I think the All-Star Game was a reminder that we’re back to normalcy, so to speak, and that you could trust our game again,” Showalter recalled. There were 15 future Hall of Fame players on the rosters, with Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez among 11 of them who started the game. He got an extended ovation during pregame introductions, then sent the sellout crowd of 50,920 into a frenzy when he threw out leadoff hitter Lenny Dykstra trying to steal second base in the top of the first inning.
“I did what I do best during the game,” Rodriguez said. Pudge is now one of the ambassadors for another Midsummer Classic in Arlington. This one will be played across the street in Globe Life Field, a stadium with a retractable roof that has already hosted two World Series since opening in 2020.
The heat is still here, but the roof will be closed for the game Tuesday night, as well as for the workout and Home Run Derby the day before. The forecast calls for temperatures in the upper 90s, and maybe even pushing 100 degrees — similar to the sweltering conditions for the All-Star festivities there ne.