I read the other day that Wednesday, July 16, is the only day of the year in which there is no major professional sporting event taking place in the United States. That is a fact worth some contemplation, which may lead to some conclusions about overkill and saturation. But instead of going down that road, I would like to make a few observations about the current baseball season — a season most strange and maybe even portentous.

But first: We have arrived at that moment in mid-summer when baseball takes a break for the All-Star Game. The first All-Star Game was the creation of Arch Ward, a Chicago Tribune sports editor who was able to persuade the owners to hold a game between the American and National League All-Stars in Chicago in conjunction with the Century of Progress Exhibition of 1933. Those who welcomed this game saw it as the dawning of a new age, in which the use of modern promotional techniques had arrived in baseball.

A number of owners objected to it as a distraction from the regular season, an unnecessary interruption of the normal patterns. No doubt some also objected because they were not going to make enough money from the game, which was being played for charity. Managers objected because it broke up the regular season, although more objections came from those managers whose teams were doing well than those whose teams were struggling.

After the first All-Star Game, the managers were designated as the previous year’s pennant winners. But for that first game, two of the grand old managers — Connie Mack and John McGraw — were given the honor. For the first two years, both managers and fans chose the players, and then from 1935 through 1946, the managers selected their teams. Beginning in 1947, the selection of the starting lineup passed to the fans — until 1957, when Cincinnati fans stuffed the ballot box and chose Reds for seven of the eight starting positions.

This led to the removal of the fans from the process from 1958 to 1969. During that period, Major League managers, coaches and players made the selections. In 1970, the selection of the starting lineups was once again the domain of the fans. Ballot-box stuffing and sentimentalism — rather than performance –continue to dominate the selection. Now the system includes also includes online voting.

The first contest was dubbed the “Game of the Century,” as 49,200 fans packed Comiskey Park and millions listened on radio. Never had there been so much baseball talent gathered in one place. The game featured such stars as Carl Hubbell, Lefty Grove, Earl Averill, Joe Cronin, Frankie Frisch and Lefty Gomez.

But the star of the first game was Babe Ruth, who at age 38, less than two years from retirement, was still the dominant force in baseball. Over the years, the Babe had developed the uncanny ability to hit home runs for special occasions. Appropriately then, Ruth hit the first home run in All-Star Game history — a two-run shot in the third inning giving the American League its third run in a 4-2 victory. In the 8th inning, Ruth put the frosting on the cake, making a remarkable running catch in right field off the bat of Chick Hafey to help preserve the victory.

The following year the game moved to the Polo Grounds in New York, where Giant left-handed screwball artist Carl Hubbell was the starting pitcher. In the first and second innings, Hubbell struck out, in order: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin. All five of these American League All-Stars were subsequently elected to the Hall of Fame.

With moments like these, it only took two years before the All-Star Game was cemented into the pattern of the baseball season. And many more great moments have followed.

Fifty years later, on July 10, 1984 National League pitchers Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden combined to strike out six American Leaguers in a row. Valenzuela struck out Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson and George Brett in the fourth inning, while Gooden, at age 19, struck out Lance Parrish, Chet Lemon and Alvin Davis. Carl Hubbell threw out the first ball at this game in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park and so was there to see his consecutive strike-out record broken.

This year’s game will be notable for being the last All-Star game in Yankee Stadium. It will no doubt be marked by a tribute to five-time All Star Bobby Murcer, the former Yankee who died this past weekend.

Whatever great moments come out of this game, combined with those of the past, are what make the Baseball All-Star Game the most watched and most glamorous of all the All-Star Games in American Professional sport.

Back to the current scorecard … Every time there is an odd or strange weather pattern these days, the subject of global warming comes up as a reflexive explanation for the departures from the norm. It seems that global warming is more than likely the explanation for the strange departures from the norm in baseball.

Have you noticed that until yesterday the Tampa Rays have been sitting on top the American League East, and the Yankees are a distant third? Ever since the exorcism, the Rays seem to have turned things around. During the off-season, the Devil was driven out of Tampa Bay, logos were changed, colors were changed. Only the dreadful television announcing team remains.

In late April, the Rays began to display their new persona. They swept a three-game series against Toronto in Orlando at Disney World. These were the first games for Evan Longoria — the future star third-baseman — and it was just after former Blue Jay and former Red Sox Eric Hinske joined the Rays. He nearly hit for the cycle in one of those games at Disney, missing only the single.

From Orlando, the Rays headed back home to “the Can” (Tropicana Field) and started a home-field run that was nothing short of phenomenal. First they swept the Red Sox, and then the Angels, Baltimore, and the Cubs, who had the best record in baseball coming into “the Can.” Another sweep of the Red Sox followed. They also took three of four from the Yankees, the White Sox and Kansas City. In the process, they were climbing to the top of the Eastern Division of the American League, a place with which they were normally unfamiliar after the third week in April.

“Are they for real?” people kept asking. And, in fact, as I traveled this summer any number of people asked me that question, as if I had an answer. Well, in fact I do have an answer: They are for real. They have some very talented young players, sprinkled with a few veterans, good starting pitching, and a good bullpen. They also have a number of question marks in all these areas.

This past week saw the Rays lose seven games on a seven-game road trip, but they still are for real. They stopped hitting, starting playing poor defense, and their pitching collapsed all at the same time. For most teams, you would simply say they are in one of those slumps that all teams go through. Because of their history, there is a tendency to see this past week as a return to reality. Indeed they looked like the Devil Rays rather than the Rays. Even if they never get back to first place this season, they are for real. The farm system is loaded with talent, and the core of a very good team is already in place.

You may have noticed the phrase “the best record in baseball” a few paragraphs ago being applied to the Chicago Cubs. Indeed. And they still are, although they must share that distinction with the Los Angeles Angels, as both entered the break at 57-38 playing .600 baseball.

Given the history of the Cubs, it is certainly necessary to ask the same question that is being asked about the Rays: Are they for real? It would seem so. And, like the Rays, the Cubs look like a different team on the road — their record is an unimpressive 20-26. They have, however, scored more runs than any other National League team, and only Texas has scored more overall, but the Rangers have allowed the most runs in the majors.

The Cubs, too, have good starting pitching — which just got better when they acquired Rich Harden from Oakland last week. Kerry Wood has been excellent as a closer, and their middle relief has been decent.

Still, it is only early July, and those of us who have followed the Cubs for any length of time know that the “loveable losers” have a way of attracting bad karma. Several questions remain to be answered: Will Kerry Wood’s arm hold up for the duration? Will the Cubs survive August, a month in which they often fade? Can the Cubs keep scoring runs at this torrid pace? Will the Cubs find some spectacular or bizarre way to miss the boat once again and begin a second century of futility?

For now Cub fans are pumped. There is discussion of a World Series on the North Side. There is even talk of an all-Chicago World Series, as the White Sox are also having a very good year. Of course it could happen, but it is only mid-July and there is a lot of baseball left to be played.

Some people also seem to think that just because it has been 100 years since the Cubs won the World Series, it is somehow going to happen on this anniversary of baseball futility and frustration. If it does, prepare for the end of time. And if it should be a White Sox vs. Cubs World Series, or a Rays vs. Cubs World Series, the end of time might even precede the Series. At that point, global warming will simply be a hypothetical.