PHILADELPHIA — Beneath an exploding sky, illuminated by a bombardment of fireworks, the National League’s most unlikely All-Star jogged in from the bullpen.
Foster Griffin, a 30-year-old pitcher for the Washington Nationals who spent the past three years playing in Japan, gave himself a moment to pause, look up and soak it in. He’d been the final player added to the roster, albeit a thoroughly deserving last-minute replacement for this staggeringly patriotic Midsummer Classic coinciding with America’s 250th birthday. Griffin has gone from first-round pick to cast-off to afterthought and back again, restarting his career in improbable fashion this season with an upstart Nats team.
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“Crazy, right? It’s crazy to see where we’re at. I’m looking back, just a year ago, super grateful,” Griffin said postgame before admitting that stopping to appreciate the fireworks helped him calm his nerves before he took the ball in the top of the fifth inning.
The pyrotechnic spectacle was actually the dramatic finale of a five-minute midgame ceremony intended to echo the famous Fourth of July set piece from the 1993 movie “The Sandlot.” In that scene, a group of ball-playing youngsters take advantage of the holiday fireworks to hold their only night game of the year. Eventually, overawed by the technicolor bursts of light, the tweens redirect their focus skyward, mouths agape, childlike wonder pasted on their faces. Ray Charles’ legendary, moving version of “America the Beautiful” plays soothingly in the background.
It’s a killer scene, one that deftly weaves together the relationship between baseball, Americana and youthful innocence. It’s an eternal summer. For a night, the kids on that sandlot dream their way into feeling like big leaguers, not middle schoolers playing make believe. There’s a saccharine, almost naive sense of limitlessness, of possibility, something that feels quintessentially America at its most optimistic.
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In that way, Griffin was the perfect character to then take the stage. For the past three seasons, the Nationals’ southpaw, born and raised in Florida, spent his July Fourths an ocean away. Because of the time difference in Japan, he slept through any televised firework displays happening back home. Across the world, his Independence Days held no special meaning. And so, it was touching to watch a guy who never stopped dreaming, like those kids in “The Sandlot,” see his own dreams fulfilled beneath a firework’ed sky.
The extended interlude — it was fabulous and also two minutes too long — was just one of many ornate, America-drenched moments in what was otherwise a massively disappointing All-Star Game. The American League scored three runs in the first off Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez, to the disappointment of the home crowd. Then the game went into cruise control for a few hours. White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas added a solo shot in the eighth. The NL managed just three hits. Nobody will remember this evening for the game itself.
Thankfully, MLB planned a smorgasbord of theatrical presentations honoring the country’s 250th. There was a 13-piece band dressed up as Revolutionary War Era soldiers backing Jennifer Hudson as she crooned “America the Beautiful” ahead of player introductions. Patti Labelle belted the national anthem as four fighter jets raced through the early dusk. Four Air Force Academy cadets parachuted onto the outfield while ballplayers gawked from the dugout.
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That was all before the game even started.
The apex, though, was the Sandlot tribute with its accompanying fireworks. It began with a video of a group of kids biking through the streets of Philadelphia, ballgloves in tow. Eventually, the gaggle ended up at the gates of Citizens Bank Park — at which point a door in the outfield fence swung open, and a peloton of youngsters began pedaling across the outfield grass. Ray Charles’ live performance of “America the Beautiful” from Game 2 of the 2001 World Series glimmered on the JumboTron and blared over the stadium speakers. As the kids biked across the diamond, a handful of All-Stars emerged to greet them.
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At shortstop, one kid flipped through baseball cards with Bobby Witt Jr. Another played catch near first base with Freddie Freeman. Local legend Mike Trout looked on, providing tips while a boy in a Tug McGraw jersey took some dry swings. In the bullpen, Foster Griffin looked toward the sky.
How can you not be romantic about baseball?
“Man, this is heaven right now,” Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber said of the scene. “We should feel lucky, all of us as players, we get to do this for a living. … To have moments and experiences like this, these are things that you’re just never gonna forget.”
Out in right field, first-time All-Star and hometown favorite Brandon Marsh stood next to a preteen boy in a backward Phillies cap. This night had been a long time coming for Marsh. It took the hirsute outfielder four years to reach his full potential with the Phillies. He has evolved from a whimsical cult hero to a key contributor to a legitimate All-Star. This opportunity, this honor has meant a lot to him.
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And when the TV camera swiveled around to show his bearded face, Marsh very clearly had tears welling up in his eyes.
“It was incredible, bro,” he shared afterward when asked about the experience. “I couldn’t stop crying.”
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