It’s All Real at This Year’s MLB All-Star Game

President John F. Kennedy attends the 1962 All-Star Game at D.C. Stadium.

The crack of the bat and the cheers of the crowd, that first sip of an ice-cold drink, the smell of buttery popcorn, the feel of the hot breeze on your skin and the bright green of the field—no sensory experience inspires nostalgia quite like a summertime baseball game.

On July 11, Seattle will host its third Major League Baseball All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park—the MLB’s 93rd All-Star Game. The Midsummer Classic has been held once or twice a summer since 1933, with the exception of two years: 1945 (World War II) and 2020 (the COVID pandemic). As we reflect on all that has changed in the sport since that first game 90 years ago, it’s also worth remembering all the wonderful ways it’s stayed the same.

T-Mobile Stadium. Learn more about T-Mobile and the MLB here.

Fans have often debated and argued about changes to the sport, whether they be recent additions like the pitch clock or decades-old ones like the designated hitter, but other changes have only enhanced our love of baseball: the ability to stream a game on our phones, for example, or the way we can vote online for our All-Star picks.

And regardless of how the equipment and technology advance throughout the years, the heart of baseball will remain the same, the way it combines quiet moments with heart-wrenching excitement, bringing together people of all generations and rallying a community together in support of their team.

As fans trickle into T-Mobile Park this year, settling into their seats with their refreshments and looking for their favorite players, they might miss one of the most beautiful, and enduring, features of the sport: the field itself.

Featuring a blend of Washington-grown grasses, including Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, the field at T-Mobile Park is lush, green, healthy and cool, a perfect place to host a summertime game. While some baseball stadiums have converted their fields to artificial turf, many have resisted this change, retaining their natural grass fields that provide additional benefits beyond their charm and beauty.

Artificial turf fields are an example of how change isn’t always good in America’s pastime. Made of synthetic materials, they can take hundreds of years to break down and are not recyclable, and they can actually increase the likelihood of injuries like abrasions and concussions when players fall. They are hotter and more uncomfortable all around.

In contrast, natural grass, like Seattle’s field, actually benefits the environment, filtering carbon and dust from the air and adding oxygen back. In contrast with artificial fields, natural turfgrass reduces the temperature around it by as much as 14 degrees, creating more comfortable conditions for the athletes. It’s soft for falls, and the varieties planted at the stadium are cold and drought resistant.

As musician Juliana Hatfield once said, “Baseball is more than a game. It’s like life played out on a field.” In the case of Washington’s baseball field, it’s all real.