What did you do for the All-Star Game?

Probably not what the manager of the Peoria Chiefs did:

[Ryne] Sandberg took part in festivities Monday and Tuesday for Major League Baseball's All-Star game in New York and missed Wednesday's game in Peoria to attend a baseball celebration at the White House.

"Those were once-in-a-lifetime types of experiences," the former Chicago Cub and Hall of Fame second baseman said before Thursday's game against the Lansing Lugnuts.

I'm going to skip around a bit, because the kicker of this story should be at the end.

Tuesday began with a parade of Hall of Famers and this year's all-stars down Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Sandberg said the number of fans who came to watch shocked him.

"Thousands, millions of people? I don't know," he said. "It was a 30-minute ride and jam-packed on both sides of the street. They had the red carpet rolled down the street. That was a big thrill."

Then it was on to Yankee Stadium for the Midsummer Classic. It was the first time Sandberg had set foot in perhaps baseball's most historic venue. Making the occasion even more special was being on the field prior to the game as part of the largest collection of stars in the game's history.

"To be able to walk from center field onto the field in that arena that night, it almost doesn't get any better than that," Sandberg said.

Not even one of the sport's greats was immune to getting goosebumps from the ceremony.

"I just took it all in, and it was a great moment," Sandberg said. "It was great for everybody that was out there, and it was great for baseball."

Then, there was the trip to the White House. Finally, there was the return home:

He was ejected for the fifth time this season Thursday when he argued base umpire Phil Henry's call that Elvis Lara was out on a close play at first base.