Keller @ Large: Unexpected Pleasures Can Be Greatest Ones

BOSTON (CBS) - As regulars here know, I am a huge sports fan, like most Bostonians.

We can be our true Bostonian selves when we're watching the game in ways that wouldn't be appropriate elsewhere.

But sports inspire and educate in many different ways, and Tuesday night's Major League Baseball All-Star Game is an example.

Even for an avid baseball fan like me, the All-Star Game is a gigantic bore; I usually last about three or four innings before slipping into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Why is it so boring?

Because while it's always fun to cheer the stars, baseball is a game where the obscure and unheralded can be the ones who really make the difference.

Everybody loves watching Mookie Betts hit and make spectacular catches.

But it's special to see a kid like Andrew Benintendi do the same, evoking sweet memories of the young Tony Conigliaro, with all the promise of years of highlights to come.

I love it when a guy like Tzu-Wei Lin, previously known as "who?" – steps in and hits well over .300 while making the plays at third base. Did you know he is one of two Taiwanese players in the majors?

See what I mean about education?

Chris Sale is starting for the American League and he's been terrific, but what about Drew Pomeranz, lacking Sale's charisma but almost matching his performance?

In sports, as in life, the greatest pleasures are sometimes the unexpected ones.

Like an early night of deep, dreamless sleep.