MIAMI -- Prior to Tuesday's 88th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, Corey Dickerson said he was not worried about his own performance as long as the American League won and that he took advantage of the experience he was given. With a 2-1 American League victory over the National League in 10 innings and advice from his All-Star teammates, Dickerson's night was a success.
"It was awesome," Dickerson said. "Great experience with all the guys. Everybody had fun the whole game. It was exciting. Very, very quick and rushed, but it was fun."
Dickerson made his All-Star debut in the second inning as the starting designated hitter for the American League. The lefty aggressively fouled off the first two pitches he saw, but, on the third, he got under a 66.2-mph changeup from Pat Neshek that he served into left field for an easy flyout.
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"First at-bat I felt like, you know, especially with these guys throwing 100 and throwing their best stuff for one inning, to be aggressive and I think I hit an eephus pitch at like 60 mph," Dickerson said. "I wasn't expecting it."
Dickerson worked a six-pitch at-bat in the fourth before ending his first All-Star evening with a swing-and-miss on a slider from Carlos Martinez.
Two-time All Star Chris Archer -- who joined Dickerson on the American League roster -- advised Dickerson prior to the festivities to not focus as much on his performance in the game, but to take everything in and take advantage of the situation. Dickerson said he was excited to participate in the game, but knew the importance of taking advantage of meeting his American League teammates.
"I've talked to Jose Altuve," Dickerson said. "I've talked to Michael Brantley and just want to communicate a little bit about hitting and their thought processes. Not really about their physical swing or attributes, but what they think when they're in the box and what makes them click. And, you know, you can apply some of those things to yourself."
Archer did not make it into Tuesday's game, but made sure to take his own advice and learn from the greats around him.
"Last night, I spent a little time with Dallas Keuchel and I was like, 'Hey man, teach me. I have to be like you.' He was like, 'Alright, here's what I'll do, I'll give you a little location if you give me a couple miles per hour of velo[city],'" Archer said. "I said, 'Done. You can have a full mile an hour, mile an hour and a half if you want it, if you teach me how to locate.' So yeah, we all bring something unique and special and it's fun to just sit in a circle and talk about it."
Being an All Star means missing some downtime with family for some, but for Archer, the highlight of his experience was sharing it with his parents, who were in attendance Tuesday night.
"Making my parents smile," Archer said. "That's my number-one priority in life, so there's a lot of smiles on this trip."