As George Arias rounded the bases, he was pumped, thrilled, excited. But he showed no exuberance, trotting back to the dugout in a cool, soothing manner like the picture of the Kirin Beer ad he had just hit with a monstrous 147-meter blast at the Tokyo Dome.
Inside, though, Arias was like a little kid.
"I didn't really get ecstatic. But trust me, I really wanted to jump around in the dugout," said a smiling Arias, who was voted Most Valuable Player in Friday's first game of the 2002 All-Star Series.