All-Star festivities provide lifetime memories

Sports

Related Photos

Cade Saporito, 7-year-old from Columbus, takes a healthy swing Monday afternoon at the "Little K" outside of Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

Discussion

July 10, 2012

All-Star festivities provide lifetime memories

By Ryan Atkinson Globe Sports Writer The Joplin Globe Tue Jul 10, 2012, 12:03 AM CDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Clint Saporito stood outside the “Little K’’ and watched his 7-year-old son, Cade, swing for the fences.

After his last swing, Cade dropped the bat and rounded the bases of the miniature field inside Kauffman Stadium.

“This is really cool, it’s something special,” said Clint Saporito, from Columbus, Kan. “I‘m pretty impressed.”

The Saporitos — Clint’s father and brother were along for the ride — were part of the standing-room-only crowd of 40,351 to pack Kauffman Stadium on Monday night for the MLB Home Run Derby.

It was a rare chance for Saporito to share a father-son All-Star experience so close to home. The MLB All-Star game hasn’t been to Kansas City since 1973 and, with nearly every other team in the league boasting a larger market, it likely won’t return anytime soon.

“We’ve been to a few ball games, but nothing like this,” Saporito said. “We’ll remember it forever.”

Much like Clint said he still remembers his trip with his two brothers and parents to the 1989 NBA All-Star Game in Houston.

“When we were growing up, Mom and Dad took us to the NBA All-Star game and we’ve always remembered that and talk about it,” he said. “I wanted (Cade) to have something special like that. Something he can always remember, seeing all these different players. It’s special.”

Saporito said his family bought tickets a couple months ago and knew all along that they wanted to try for the Home Run Derby instead of the All-Star Game.

“We picked the Derby, for sure,” he said. “I like the All-Star Game, but I’ve always wanted to watch a Home Run Derby. It’s neat to see.”

Bronx Cheers

If anyone was wondering how much of Kauffman Stadium would be filled with Royals fans, they got their answer when Robinson Cano came to the plate.

The Yankees star — who told ESPN last month that he would pick a Royals player to hit in the Derby before going back on his word — was booed loudly. But it wasn’t all boos that he heard.

He fouled off his first pitch in the Derby and was cheered loudly.

He then proceeded to go 0-for-10, the only player on the night to go homerless.

His final out produced perhaps the loudest cheer of the night, making two things clear — Royals fans showed up in force and they take their baseball seriously, despite their loyal ties to a struggling franchise.

Cross-state presence

While the crowd was, naturally, dominated by Royals fans, many Cardinals fans, again naturally, were in the house.

“We don’t mind going anywhere with our Cardinals gear on,” said Clint Saporito, a lifelong St. Louis fan. “We’re World Champions.”

Current Cardinal and longtime Royal Carlos Beltran was warmly welcomed by the Kauffman Stadium crowd before hitting seven homers in the first round before being eliminated in the second round despite an impressive 12 long balls.