
Not there’s any pressure, but if Florida Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla fails to make the National League All-Star team, he’s going to hear it from his father, John.
“One of his dreams is to see me play in Yankee Stadium,” Dan says. “That’s where he always used to watch games as a kid. He’s been ragging me all year about trying to make this All-Star team.”
Uggla, who leads the majors with 23 homers, should have no problem fulfilling his father’s wishes. Phillies second baseman Chase Utley leads all NL vote-getters, but an investigation will be warranted if Uggla is not chosen as a reserve.
The only NL players who have a higher OPS than Uggla are Lance Berkman, Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols. Not bad, considering that Uggla was batting .188 on April 19, looking nothing at all like an All-Star.
“It was over on the 15th of April,” John says. “I thought, ‘There goes the Yankee Stadium trip.’ But he never says die. He’s been like that his whole career. Something clicks. He gets the competitive juices going. And he finds a way to get it done.”
John Uggla, 61, lives in Columbia, Tenn., but grew up in Schenectady, N.Y., 145 miles north of New York City. His grandfather, John Ryder, was a huge Yankees fan. From about 1952 to ’58, when the Ugglas moved to Indiana, the family would take a three-hour-plus train ride to Grand Central Station, then hop on the No. 4 train to Yankee Stadium at least twice a year.
A half-century later, the memories remain indelible.
“When you’re 6-, 7-. 8-years old, you’re just in awe, as we all are of these guys,” John says. “Just sitting there
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