The 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be remembered for a couple of reasons. New York Mets' starting pitcher Matt Harvey plunked Yankees' second baseman Robinson Cano, forcing Cano to leave the game with a quad injury, and legendary Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera appeared in a Mid-Summer Classic for the final time amid great fanfare.
But as newsworthy as those stories were, there were also some ridiculous moments that are worth watching again.
Here's how Joe Buck (and a cackling Tim McCarver) opened the broadcast:
Hang on a second. Did Joe Buck just show emotion? He was just trying to be funny, but it was still a weird way to start things off.
Things got even weirder during the National League player introductions.
Here's Philadelphia Phillies' pitcher Cliff Lee, who was either in a deep hypnotic trance or was just told his puppy died:
Cliff? Cliff? Someone get the smelling salts.
When it was time for the American League introductions, Detroit Tigers' slugger Miguel Cabrera had a little surprise for Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia:
The stunned look on Pedroia's face says it all. Good stuff there from Cabrera in mocking Pedroia's 5'9 frame. Hopefully Pedroia doesn't retaliate with anything about Cabrera's past problems with alcohol.
During the game, FOX Sports reporter Erin Andrews sat down with Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, who may have his Hall credentials revoked when they see this shirt:
As if the butterflies weren't enough, Seaver revealed to Andrews that he had "imaginary friends" growing up. Suddenly, the choice of shirt makes a lot of sense.
The story of Toronto Blue Jays' relief pitcher Steve Delabar has been well documented. He was a substitute teacher and had to have a steel plate with nine screws attached to repair his right elbow. The FOX cameras got a close-up of the bionic limb, and it looked like this:
I don't know what's cooler here; the baseball seam stitches, the weird angle of the elbow, or the popping veins.
And finally, after Rivera's stirring entrance that brought the fans and the players to their feet at Citi Field, McCarver decided to give spoken word a try, reciting the chorus to "Enter Sandman":
Thanks a lot, McCarver. You've singlehandedly ruined that song. Thankfully, there were no encore haikus, sonnets or monologues.
What a way to end a weird All-Star Game broadcast. That said, it was a memorable night, and now you have a few more reasons not to forget it.
