Once in a lifetime: former players recall their only at-bat in All-Star game competition - Part 1 of 2 Articles

Baseball Digest, Nov, 2003 by Bob Kuenster

"I made it once and had a good game," Dillinger said. "You hate to be a bust in the All-Star game, but I did pretty good. I pinch-ran and scored a run. Then singled off Howie Pollet. It was a great experience and I had fun. I actually had a better year in 1948, but didn't get the votes to be elected. You weren't going to get much support playing for the Browns regardless of how good you were because we drew maybe 2,500 people to our games. In those days, the St. Louis votes went to the Cardinals."

In 1947, Dillinger hit .294 and led the A.L. with 34 stolen bases. The following season--his best in the majors--the right-handed hitting third baseman led the junior circuit with 207 hits and 28 steals while batting .321 and scoring 110 runs. In '49, he hit .324 and led the A.L. in steals for the third straight year with 20 before being traded and splitting the 1950 campaign with the A's and Pirates and the 1951 season with the Pirates and White Sox.

Dillinger could always hit, but it was his defense that prevented him from getting a longer stay in the majors.

"I was a good hitter and fielder, but to be honest, I had a lousy throwing arm. I could field the ball but was scared to throw it. I was like Steve Sax. I spent the 1952-1955 seasons in the Pacific Coast League where I moved to the outfield and led the league in hitting with a .366 mark in 1953. I thought that would get me back to the majors, but it didn't work out. I was 35, and probably too old. If I were in my twenties and put up those numbers, I might have made it back to the big leagues."

Dillinger, 84, said the mid-summer classic was different than it is today. "We played hard and played to win. You wanted to do good," he said. "Even though it was my first and only All-Star game, I played in those types of games before. During the war, I played on the special service team with guys like Joe DiMaggio, Ferris Fain, Jerry Priddy and other big leaguers. I played center field for DiMaggio's club in Guam in front of 40,000 troops.

"Baseball was good to me, but today, I don't think any All-Star player is worth a million dollars. In my time, we worried about getting winter jobs. I worked construction in the off-season and when I left baseball, I worked for the city of Los Angeles as a construction inspector.

"I could have been on other All-Star teams," Dillinger said, "but I was picked for only one. I'm glad I got the chance and did well."

Jimmy Piersall, 1956 Red Sox:

A former White Sex announcer and Cubs minor league instructor, Piersall played in the majors for 17 seasons with the Red Sox, Indians, Senators, Mets and Angels, finishing his career with 1,604 hits, 811 runs and a .272 batting average. His strongest suit was his defensive play in center field where he gained a reputation as one of the very best glovemen of his generation.

Piersall led American League outfielders in fielding percentage three times and captured two Gold Glove awards. His finest season came in 1956 when he led the A.L. with 40 doubles while batting .293 with 176 hits, six triples, 14 home runs, 91 runs scored, 87 RBI and was selected as an All-Star.