Bring on the
All-Stars
The home of the Rome Braves will host
the event for the first time since 2007
By Jonathan Blaylock
Midway through the 2020 baseball season,
State Mutual Stadium will play host to some of
the top players in Minor League Baseball.
For only the second time in the Braves’ 18-year
stint in Rome, the Braves’ stadium will host the
South Atlantic League All-Star Game on June 23,
which pits the top players from the Northern and
Southern divisions of the league to compete in a
contest that splits the season in two halves.
Rome last hosted the All-Star Game in 2007
when the team sent four players to the game
— pitchers Kris Medlen, Tommy Hanson and
Deunte Heath, and outfielder Concepcion
Rodriguez. The lineups also feature future major
leaguers Chris Coghlan, Desmond Jennings and
Eduardo Núñez. The Northern Division won 3-1.
Longtime Braves broadcaster Randy Davis
remembers the first time the city hosted the All-
Star Game as a big event and sees this year as
no different. Davis owns WLAQ-AM 1410, which
broadcasted the Braves for 12 years.
“The Braves did it up right,” Davis said. “They
really did a good job that year. I can’t expect
they would do anything less this time. Obviously,
you don’t get to do it too often. It was a big deal.
The first time, it was in the honeymoon years
when the team had only been here for a short
time, but I’m sure it’ll be pretty close to how it
was back then.”
76 OUTLOOK | APRIL 2020