All-Star Game — Baseball Bench Coach

About every summer growing up my family would take a vacation at a small resort in central Tennessee. My Dad became friends with the owner. In 1970 we watched the All-Star Game (ASG) in our cottage. The game was being played in our hometown, Cincinnati, and at our two-week old ballpark, Riverfront Stadium. Tied 4-4 going into the bottom of the 12th inning, the game ended when the Cubs’ Jim Hickman singled to centerfield and Pete Rose of the Reds came charging down the third base line toward home. The ball beat Rose to the plate but Pete bulldozed the AL catcher, Ray Fosse of the Indians, who dropped the ball allowing the winning run to score. The next morning at breakfast the resort owner sat down at our table and remarked that Rose was “one hard-nosed guy”. None of us knew then that the game-ending play would be one of the more controversial moments in ASG history, an All-Star catcher suffering a career-changing injury in a seemingly meaningless game.

Tomorrow night the American and National Leagues face off at Coors Field in Denver for the 91st All-Star Game. Due to the pandemic and travel restrictions, last year marked only the second time that the game wasn’t played since the first game in 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Travel restrictions during World War II also played a part in cancelling the 1945 game. Two All-Star games were played each season from 1959 to 1962. Amazingly, the AL holds a slim 45-43-2 advantage in the 90 games played. All-Star wins have come in streaks. The American League won 12 of the first 16 encounters. From 1950 to 1987, the NL ruled with a record of 33-8-1, including 19 of 20 from 1963 to 1982. The AL has turned the tables since 1988 with a record of 25-6-1, including a 13-game unbeaten streak from 1997 to 2009.

The early years of the Midsummer Classic featured star players playing for the pride of their leagues. The only other times when AL and NL players would match up against each other before the modern era of interleague play were during spring exhibitions and the World Series. The AL’s adoption of the designated hitter rule in 1973 threw a wrench into the All-Star Game with its new breed of player, the DH. It wasn’t until 1989 that an official DH role was adopted by MLB into the ASG format, but for several years, until 2010, only in games where the American League was the host team. Nowadays, the DH has its rightful place in the game since it serves as an easy means to get more pitchers and position players involved.

In 2002, the All-Star Game, due to the shortage of players available to continue play, was called a tie after 12 innings by Commissioner Bud Selig. The decision caused a great uproar at the Milwaukee ballpark that night and a reckoning in baseball. Were the players and managers still competing for league pride as in the past? In order to give ASG encounters a competitive boost, it was decided shortly thereafter to give the winning league’s representative the home field advantage in the World Series. Thinking that this incentive had run its course, MLB abandoned the practice in 2017.

There have been some classic All-Star Games, but two marathons stand out. During the last season of old Yankee Stadium, 2008, the NL and AL All-Stars battled it out in New York in a back and forth game that lasted 15 innings. In the 10th and 11th innings, three AL players were thrown out at the plate attempting to score the winning run. It was not until the bottom of the 15th inning that the American League was finally able to break through with a 4-3 win, as Twins first baseman Justin Morneau raced home on a sacrifice fly. It tied the 1967 All-Star Game as the longest one played, another 15 inning, low scoring affair. The ’67 game was one of my earliest images of watching ASG, probably because Tony Perez of the Reds was the MVP. He hit the game-winning home run as the NL triumphed 2-1. The pitching stars shone bright that day, as Don Drysdale of the Dodgers got the win and a young New York Mets pitcher, Tom Seaver, recorded the save.

Following the tradition established in 1934, this year the NL will be managed by Dave Roberts, the World Series champion Dodgers skipper, and the AL will be led by pennant winner Tampa Bays manager Kevin Cash. One interesting exception to having the pennant-winners manage was in 1965. Gene Mauch of the Phillies and Al Lopez of the White Sox were tagged to manage their league’s All-Stars, since the 1964 World Series managers (Yankees’ Yogi Berra and Cardinals’ Johnny Keane) left their jobs after their pennant-winning seasons. The player rosters today (34 players on each) are selected in this way: fan voting for the starters (8 position players and 1 DH for AL); players vote for 16 players (eight pitchers that includes 5 starters and 3 relievers, and one backup player for each position); the managers with input from the MLB Commissioner’s office select 9 players (NL) and 8 (AL); and a final spot goes to 1 player by fan voting out of a final group of five players. Exactly one-half of the participants this year, 34 players, are making their ASG debut, first-timers split evenly between the two squads. All eyes will be on one player in particular, the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, who captured a slot as a starting pitcher and a DH, the first time ever in MLB history.

Oddly enough, the AL starting lineup this year features three Toronto players, 1B Vlad Guerrero Jr., 2B Marcus Semien, and OF Teoscar Hernandez, despite the fact the Blue Jays are in third place in the AL East and have played all of their games away from Toronto. While you might think there was a little stuffing the internet ballot box taking place, it’s nothing compared to what we’ve seen in the past. In 1957, Cincinnati fans were able to elect 7 Reds players to the NL starting lineup, with the only non-Reds player being Cardinals great Stan Musial. After a quick investigation by the Commissioner’s office concluded that over half of the fan voting came from Cincinnati and pre-marked ballots were used, MLB removed 2 Reds players and gave starting slots to Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. MLB also removed fan voting for starters until 1969 when it was reinstated. More recently, Kansas City Royals fans came out in full force with internet voting in 2015, with all eight of its starting position players leading in voting prior to the release of the final vote tally. MLB stepped in again cancelling 65 million votes deemed to be fraudulent, and the final AL starting roster included just 3 Royals.

The venue for All-Star Games is another interesting topic. MLB chooses the site based on a variety of factors – whether there is a new or renovated ballpark; how often and when the team has hosted a game; and until recently, what year it is, odd or even. Historically, AL teams host in odd-numbered years and NL teams in even. That has changed somewhat in the past decade, given that the NL hosted four straight games from 2015 to 2018 and will host again this year, in Denver, and next year, in Los Angeles. The original site for this year’s ASG was Truist Park in Atlanta, the latest and greatest of the Braves’ home ballparks during the past 30 years. On April 2 though, MLB decided to move the 2021 ASG out of Atlanta in response to the backlash in the Atlanta community to new laws restricting voting rights. Major brands located in Georgia, such as Coca-Cola, Delta and Aflac, were poised to boycott the game. The game has been moved to Coors Field in Denver. Earlier this month a federal judge denied an injunction for the game to be moved back to Atlanta.

And then there’s the matter of the uniforms. The longstanding tradition has been for the players to sport the uniform of their own teams, a display of pride for every fan to know that his or her team is represented in the All-Star Game. As MLB apparel sales became a big focus over the past several years, game-specific uniforms were made for other ASG events, such as the Home Run Derby. This year for the first time MLB has revealed new uniforms to be used for the game itself. The NL players will all wear white jerseys as the home team, and the AL players will be in blue as the road squad. Even before the game has begun, this new approach to ASG jerseys has not been well received by the public. Get your ASG jerseys now for a mere $400 at your team store; this may be a one-year deal.

The All-Star Game is about the big moment, the game or play to remember. For me that’s the 1979 All-Star Game in Seattle. There were 2 outs in the eighth inning with the Angels’ Brian Downing on second base. The Yankees’ Craig Nettles lined a single to right field, Dave Parker of the Pirates fielded the ball, and Parker threw an absolute rocket to the plate, nailing Downing. This was just an inning after Parker threw another bullet to third base, retiring a surprised Jim Rice of the Red Sox. Parker showcased his arm that night, and won the Most Valuable Player award for his defensive efforts. It’s like it happened just yesterday in mind. Let’s see what tomorrow night’s showcase of stars brings. Enjoy the game!

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

P.S. What’s your favorite All-Star Game moment?