2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
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Date | July 15–16, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Venue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TV announcers | Joe Buck and Tim McCarver (Fox) Dave O'Brien and Rick Sutcliffe (MLB International) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Radio | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Radio announcers | Dan Shulman and Dave Campbell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York City, home of the New York Yankees, on July 15, 2008, and began at 8:47 p.m. ET. The game ended at 1:38 a.m. ET the following morning. The home American League won 4–3 in 15 innings, giving home field advantage in the 2008 World Series to the AL champion, which eventually came to be the Tampa Bay Rays.
By length of time, this was the longest MLB All-Star Game in history (4 hours and 50 minutes), and it also tied the mark for the longest game by innings played at 15 with the
Background
As with each All-Star Game since 1970, the eight starting position players of each league, as well as the American League's designated hitter, were elected by fan balloting. The remaining players were selected by a players' vote, each league's team manager, and a second fan balloting to add one more player to each roster. In all, 32 players were selected to each league's team, not including players who decline to play due to injuries or personal reasons.
The game was the sixth straight All-Star Game to decide home-field advantage in the
Venue selection
The announcement of Yankee Stadium as the site of the game was made by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on January 31, 2007, at New York's City Hall.[1] Though it was the fourth game hosted at the Stadium and the eighth held in New York City, it was the first time since 1977 that the game had been played in the city (the last time also at Yankee Stadium). It had been speculated for months that the game would be held in Yankee Stadium, accelerated by the announcement that the 2008 season would be the 84th and final one for the stadium before the team moved into the new Yankee Stadium in 2009. Thus, it was seen as a fitting tribute to the old stadium that it host an All-Star Game in its final season.[2]
It was the first All-Star Game to be played in a venue scheduled to close after that season.[3]
Related events
- The
- The Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Gamewere played on July 13 at Yankee Stadium.
- The State Farm Home Run Derbywas held July 14 at the stadium.
- 42 replicas of the Statue of Liberty (officially 43 when including the replica found at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center) were put on display beginning on June 20 at various sites throughout the city. They depicted every MLB team, the game logo, the league logo, and even the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants.[5]
Fan balloting
Starters
Balloting for the 2008 All-Star Game starters (excluding pitchers) began on April 29. Because the game was in an American League ballpark, fans were asked to select their favorite AL designated hitter in addition to all the position players. The top vote-getters at each position, and top three among outfielders, were named to start the game.
Votes were cast online and at the 30 MLB ballparks.
Final roster spot
After the rosters were revealed, a second ballot of five players per league was created for the
Player | Team | Pos. | Experience (All Star/ Seasons) |
Player | Team | Pos. | Experience (All Star/ Seasons) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
National League | American League | ||||||
Corey Hart | MIL | OF | (0/5) | Evan Longoria | TB | 3B | (0/1) |
David Wright | NYM | 3B | (2/5) | Jermaine Dye | CWS | OF | (2/13) |
Pat Burrell | PHI | OF | (0/9) | Jason Giambi | NYY | 1B | (5/14) |
Aaron Rowand | SF | OF | (1/8) | Brian Roberts | BAL | 2B | (2/8) |
Carlos Lee | HOU | OF | (3/10) | José Guillén | KC | OF | (0/12) |
Rosters
Players in italics have since been inducted into the
^a Selected to start but unable to play due to injury. Milton Bradley took his place in the starting lineup.[9]
^b Selected to start but unable to play due to injury. Matt Holliday took his place in the starting lineup. David Wright took his place on the roster.[11]
^c Won the Monster All-Star Final Vote.
^d Unable to play due to injury. Carlos Mármol took his place on the roster.[12]
^e Lincecum was not available to the National League due to flu-like symptoms he suffered earlier in the day.[13]
Game
Ceremonies
To commemorate the last all-star game at Yankee Stadium, every living member of the Baseball Hall of Fame was invited to the game. Forty-nine players, coaches, and administrators accepted the invitation. Many of them participated in a pre-game parade that went up
The
During the seventh-inning stretch, Josh Groban sang "God Bless America".
Umpires
The six umpires working the 79th All-Star game were announced on June 25. The crew was led by Derryl Cousins, a thirty-year MLB veteran working his third All-Star game and his first behind the plate.[16]
Position | Umpire |
---|---|
Home Plate | Derryl Cousins |
First Base | Ed Rapuano |
Second Base | Tom Hallion |
Third Base | Mark Wegner |
Left Field | Greg Gibson |
Right Field | Phil Cuzzi |
Starting lineups
National League | American League | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Order | Player | Team | Position | Order | Player | Team | Position |
1 | Hanley Ramírez | Marlins |
SS | 1 | Ichiro Suzuki | Mariners | RF |
2 | Chase Utley | Phillies | 2B | 2 | Derek Jeter | Yankees | SS |
3 | Lance Berkman | Astros | 1B | 3 | Josh Hamilton | Rangers | CF |
4 | Albert Pujols | Cardinals | DH | 4 | Alex Rodriguez | Yankees | 3B |
5 | Chipper Jones | Braves | 3B | 5 | Manny Ramírez |
Red Sox | LF |
6 | Matt Holliday | Rockies | RF | 6 | Milton Bradley | Rangers | DH |
7 | Ryan Braun | Brewers | LF | 7 | Kevin Youkilis | Red Sox | 1B |
8 | Kosuke Fukudome | Cubs | CF | 8 | Joe Mauer | Twins | C |
9 | Geovany Soto | Cubs | C | 9 | Dustin Pedroia | Red Sox | 2B |
Ben Sheets | Brewers | P | Cliff Lee | Indians |
P |
Coaches
Tigers manager
New York Mets manager Willie Randolph and San Diego Padres manager Bud Black were selected as coaches by manager Clint Hurdle.[18] Randolph was later replaced by Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella after Randolph was fired by the Mets on June 16.
Game summary
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
National League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 4 | |||||||||||||||
American League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
Starting pitchers: NL: Ben Sheets AL: Cliff Lee WP: Scott Kazmir (1-0) LP: Brad Lidge (0-1) Home runs: NL: Matt Holliday (1) AL: J. D. Drew (1) |
The game-time temperature was 82 °F (28 °C), with the wind blowing out to center field at eight miles per hour. Cliff Lee threw the first pitch at 8:47 EDT. Starting pitchers Lee and Ben Sheets set the tone for the game by each throwing two scoreless innings.[19] The game stayed scoreless until the fifth inning when Matt Holliday led off the inning with a home run off Ervin Santana to give the National League a 1–0 lead. The NL added a run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Lance Berkman to score Hanley Ramírez. The American League finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning on a two-out, two-run home run by J. D. Drew off Edinson Vólquez, tying the game at two.[19]
In the eighth inning, Miguel Tejada singled, and with one out attempted to steal second base. Catcher Dioner Navarro made a poor throw to get Tejada, and the ball ended up in center field, allowing Tejada to advance to third base on the error. Tejada scored on a sacrifice fly by Adrián González, and the NL retook the lead.[19] In the bottom half of the inning, after Brian Wilson retired the first two batters, Billy Wagner gave up a single to Grady Sizemore. Sizemore proceeded to steal second base (one of a record six stolen bases by both sides), and pinch-hitter Evan Longoria hit a ground rule double to left field to tie the game once again. With Mariano Rivera in to pitch with one out in the ninth inning for the American League, Rivera struck out Ryan Ludwick and Navarro threw out Cristian Guzmán as he attempted to steal second, thus ending the inning. Ryan Dempster struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to force the game into extra innings.[19]
In the tenth inning for the American League, Michael Young and Carlos Quentin reached base on consecutive errors by Dan Uggla.[19] Carlos Guillén was intentionally walked to load the bases with none out. With the infield and outfield drawn in, NL pitcher Aaron Cook induced ground balls from Sizemore and Longoria and the potential winning runs in both at bats were forced out at home. Cook successfully escaped the jam by getting Justin Morneau to ground out to Tejada to end the inning. The AL had another chance to win in the eleventh when Young singled with one out in the eleventh and Drew and Navarro on first and second. Navarro tried scoring from second on the hit, but was thrown out at home by Nate McLouth. Cook got Quentin to ground out to third and keep the game going.[19]
The NL then had their chance to score in the twelfth off
Sherrill pitched scoreless innings in the 13th and 14th, while Carlos Mármol and Brandon Webb did the same for the NL,[19] and the game moved into the 15th inning, tying the record set in 1967 for the longest All-Star Game in terms of innings played. At this point, each team was down to their final pitchers, raising concerns of the game finishing in a tie due to lack of pitchers. In the bottom of the 15th, Morneau led off with a single off Brad Lidge. A diving play by Ludwick robbed Kinsler of a base hit for the first out. Navarro then singled to move Morneau to second base, and Drew walked to once again load the bases. This time, the AL would capitalize; Michael Young flew out to right field, and Morneau was able to tag and just beat the throw from Corey Hart to score the winning run for a final score of 4–3. The American League's unbeaten streak in the All-Star Game was extended to 12 in a row.[19] Young was credited a walk-off sacrifice fly.
All-Star Game records set or tied
- The longest game based on time (4:50) in MLB All-Star Game history.
- Tied for the longest game in terms of number of innings (15) with the Angels Stadium(formerly Anaheim Stadium).
- Most combined strikeouts (34), stolen bases (7), runners left on base (28), pitchers (23) and players (63) in a Mid-Summer Classic.
- Florida Marlinsset an All-Star Game record by committing the most errors (3). He is the first MLB player ever to have 3 strikeouts, 3 errors, and ground into a double play in a single game. This includes any regular season, postseason, and All-Star Games.
Home Run Derby
The
Player | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Subtotal | Finals | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Justin Morneau | Minnesota | 8 | 9 | 17 | 5 | 22 |
Josh Hamilton | Texas | 28a | 4b | 32 | 3 | 35 |
Lance Berkman | Houston | 8 | 6 | 14 | – | 14 |
Ryan Braun | Milwaukee | 7 | 7 | 14 | – | 14 |
Dan Uggla | Florida |
6 | – | 6 | – | 6 |
Grady Sizemore | Cleveland |
6 | – | 6 | – | 6 |
Chase Utley | Philadelphia | 5 | – | 5 | – | 5 |
Evan Longoria | Tampa Bay | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 |
Notes:
^a New single round record.
^b Voluntarily ended round with four outs
10 Home Runs were hit while the Gold Ball (special balls used when the batters have nine outs) was in play, earning $170,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Broadcasters
The All-Star Game was shown live in the United States on
For telecasts in other countries, the game was produced by
The British rights-holder for this game,
The radio rights in the U.S. were held by ESPN Radio; the announcers were Dan Shulman and Dave Campbell.
References
- ^ Associated Press (January 31, 2007). "Yankee Stadium to host All-Stars in final season". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ Bodley, Hal (June 30, 2006). "2008 All-Star Game would be fitting send-off for historic Yankee Stadium". USA Today. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ESPN First Take (Interview). ESPN2. July 8, 2008.
- ^ "All-Star Weekend schedule of events". MLB.com. April 29, 2008. Archived from the original on July 3, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
- ^ Newman, Mark (June 19, 2008). "Statue of Liberty gets MLB makeover". MLB.com. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
- ^ Mark Newman (June 25, 2008). "Are you happy with your All-Star team?". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ "2008 American League All-Star roster". ESPN.com. July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
- ^ "2008 National League All-Star roster". ESPN.com. July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
- ^ a b "Four Red Sox, three Cubs to start in 2008 All-Star Game". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 6, 2008. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
- ^ Newman, Mark (July 10, 2008). "Longoria, Hart are fans' final All-Stars". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
- ^ Muskat, Carrie (July 9, 2008). "Soriano unable to play in All-Star Game". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
- ^ Muskat, Carrie (July 12, 2008). "Marmol replaces Wood on NL All-Stars". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
- ^ "Lincecum wakes up with flu like symptoms on day of All-Star Game". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 15, 2008. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c Footer, Alyson (July 15, 2008). "Cathedral blessed with pregame honor". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
- ^ Caple, Jim (July 16, 2008). "Stadium tribute lacked emotion, star power of '99". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
- ^ "Umpires, official scorers appointed for 79th All-Star Game". Major League Baseball. June 25, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ Singer, Tom (May 16, 2008). "Girardi, Leyland are All-Star coaches". MLB.com. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
- ^ Singer, Tom (May 16, 2008). "Randolph, Black in as All-Star coaches". MLB.com. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "National League All-Stars vs. American League All-Stars – Play By Play". ESPN.com. July 15, 2008. Archived from the original on July 22, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
- ^ Mike Tirico, on-air comment on Tirico and Van Pelt, ESPN Radio, July 22, 2008. Tirico was in England to cover The Open Championship for ESPN on ABC.