2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E American League 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 1 0 0 0 7 12 0 National League 0 1 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 13 0
Date	July 9, 2002
Venue	Miller Park
City	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Managers	American League - Joe Torre (NYY) National League - Bob Brenly (ARI)
Attendance	41,871
First pitch	Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor
Television	Fox
TV announcers	Joe Buck and Tim McCarver
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Dan Shulman and Dave Campbell
< 2001	Major League Baseball All-Star Game	2003 >

The 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 73rd playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues that make up Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 9, 2002 at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers of the NL. The game controversially ended in a 7–7 tie when both teams ran out of players. The next year home field advantage in the World Series would be awarded to the winning league.

No player was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award due to the game ending in a tie. The roster selection for the 2002 game marked the inaugural All-Star Final Vote competition (then known as "The All-Star 30th Man" competition). Johnny Damon and Andruw Jones represented the American and National Leagues as a result of this contest.

Rosters

Final Roster Spot

Starting lineups

Game

Umpires

Game summary

National League starting pitcher Curt Schilling was sharp early on, striking out three through two innings pitched. In the bottom of the first, Barry Bonds hit a deep fly ball off AL starter Derek Lowe, which looked to be deep enough to be a home run. Instead, center fielder Torii Hunter reached over the wall and caught Bonds' drive, denying the NL an early lead. Bonds playfully picked up Hunter as the NL took the field the next inning.

The NL would get on the board in the bottom of the second, when a Mike Piazza groundout scored Vladimir Guerrero from third. They'd score three more runs the next inning, when Todd Helton singled home Jimmy Rollins. Barry Bonds would get revenge for having his first inning home run taken away by belting a two-run shot to give the NL a 4–0 lead. The AL would finally score in the fourth, on the strength of a Manny Ramírez RBI single.

The AL would cut the NL lead in half in the fifth, when Alfonso Soriano hit a solo homer off Eric Gagné to cut the lead to 4–2. The NL got a run back with Damian Miller's RBI double to put the NL up 5–2. The AL put together a big inning in the seventh to take the lead. An RBI groundout from Garret Anderson, an RBI single from Tony Batista, and a two-run double from Paul Konerko scored four runs for the AL, giving them a 6–5 lead after their half of the seventh.

The NL regained the lead in bottom of the seventh, on a two-run single from Lance Berkman, which scored Mike Lowell and Damian Miller. The AL quickly tied the game back up in the eighth with Omar Vizquel's RBI triple. Neither team scored after that in regulation, and the game went into extra innings. Vicente Padilla and Freddy García each pitched scoreless innings in the tenth and eleventh, keeping the game tied.

Because Padilla and Garcia were the last pitchers available on each team, there was concern about how the game would continue. AL and NL managers Joe Torre and Bob Brenly met with Commissioner Bud Selig in the middle of the eleventh inning to discuss the situation. In a move that drew criticism, it was ruled that if the NL did not score in the bottom of the eleventh, the game would be declared a tie. The crowd in attendance roundly jeered the decision, and chants of "Let them play!" were heard. Garcia retired the side in the eleventh, and the game ended in a 7–7 tie. No MVP award was given.

(Under normal MLB playing rules, Rule 4.17 provides that a team that fails to place nine players on the field shall forfeit the game. Had this rule been properly applied, the AL team would have been declared the winner.)

Home Run Derby

The Home Run Derby took place on July 8 with eight players, four from each league, competing to try to hit as many home runs as possible.

• Giambi defeated Konerko in a blast off, similar to penalty shots

Notes

• Before the game, Red Sox All-Stars Nomar Garciaparra, Johnny Damon and Ugueth Urbina unveiled a No. 9 (in honor of Ted Williams, who died a few days earlier) painted into the grass in left field—the position the "Splendid Splinter" patrolled in 18 All-Star Games while playing for Boston. It was also the introduction of the uniform change for the Red Sox, adding a black "9" and black armband on the right sleeve of the jersey, for the remainder of the 2002 season.

• In the bottom of the first inning, Torii Hunter made a leaping catch of what would have been a home run by Barry Bonds. Initially lauded as a great play, the catch took on extra significance when the game ended in a tie and the play was voted the play of the year on MLB.com

• In Bernie's Dugout above left field, mascots from multiple MLB teams joined Bernie and pushed each other down the slide every time a home run was made.

• When Freddy García batted in the 11th inning he wore a Chicago White Sox helmet; coincidentally he would be traded to the White Sox two years later.

• With the American League having five Shortstops and one Second baseman, Omar Vizquel came off the bench to play second base.

• Before the bottom of the 11th, public address announcer Robb Edwards announced the decision that if the National League did not score the game would end in a tie. They did not score; and the game ended in a tie.

• Joe Buck and Tim McCarver stated if the National League won Damian Miller would be named M.V.P., if the American League won Paul Konerko would be.

• Throughout the game both managers wore microphones to converse with Buck, McCarver, and each other.

• When the game was called, the fans started the Bad News Bears chant of "Let them Play!, Let them Play!" to no avail.

Footnotes

• ^a Player declined or was unable to play.
• ^b Player replaced vacant spot on roster.
• ^FV Player was voted onto roster through the All-Star Final Vote.

References

General

Specific

External links

• All-Star Game Home Page
• Home Run Derby
• Boxscore and Game Recap
• Sport Illustrated Recap
• ESPN.com Recap