Tuesday night marked the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. As a Phillies fan, I was thrilled to see Roy Halladay earn the starting pitch nod, and I was ecstatic when the National League won the game 5-1. The American League typically dominates the All-Star Game, but the National League did win last year as well, when Philly’s own Charlie Manuel was at the helm. An All-Star win means home field advantage if the Phillies reach the 2011 World Series. But my emotions peaked even before the first pitch was thrown on Tuesday evening. The event took place in Arizona this year, and the night started with a tribute to the victims of the vicious attack on Gabrielle Giffords and onlookers in January. Survivors sat in the front row as guests of Major League Baseball, and Giffords’ intern threw out the first pitch. Particularly touching was the tribute to nine-year-old Christina Green, whose life was cut far too short on that January day. She has many connections to the baseball community, as her father is a scout and her grandfather was a former Phillies manager, and the moment of silence in her memory brought tears to my eyes. I was proud of Major League Baseball for remembering these heroes, and it made me proud to be a fan. — Kimberly Krol, eFlyer USA editor, circulation and public relations executive