While Tuesday night’s All-Star Game featured plenty of Derek Jeter, Mike Trout and the woman who sings that song from “Frozen,” it was also notable for one glaring omission: Last month’s death of Tony Gwynn at age 54 went unmentioned, reflecting poorly on both Major League Baseball and Fox.
How in the world do you hold an All-Star Game almost one month to the day that Gwynn died and not pay any sort of tribute to him? The San Diego Padres Hall of Famer was a mainstay on the National League squad, making the team all but one year from 1984 to 1999 for a total of 15 All-Star appearances. The outgoing Gwynn was loved long after he retired and his death on June 16 was met with a universal mourning.
On Tuesday night, baseball fans came together again to wonder how such an oversight could happen. While a Gwynn tribute did appear on the pregame show on little-watched Fox Sports One, there was nothing on the pregame broadcast on the main network or during the game.