The All-Star Game starters were announced Thursday night, right about the end of the 16th inning at Target Field, where I was sitting. I remember because just as the first couple of names came out, it struck me how long we'd all be in the press box there. It was getaway day, too -- for both teams -- and I scanned my colleagues looking for any acute evidence of distress. It was everywhere.
With a flight looming at the Minneapolis airport and obvious signs that sportswriters were on the verge of cracking in a very disturbing way, I packed up quickly and left. As I neared the gates, I heard a great roar, but it had nothing to do with the merciful end of a Methuselah-esque game. They had announced local hero Jorge Polanco as the starting shortstop for the American League. I listened to the Twins broadcast on my headphones as I speed-walked to get away and learned that Polanco will be Minnesota's first All-Star starter at shortstop since Roy Smalley. So then I knew that, and now so do you.
I was safely at the airport when I found out that the game had, indeed, ended.
So how did the voting turn out? I was curious about that because this is, after all, a new thing -- baseball's first attempt at a good-naturedly cheesy way of making the voting process structurally similar to a presidential election. And what generates more good cheer than a presidential election?