Hi everyone, it’s Wednesday which means another Top 12!! This top 12 is in Ode to the upcoming MLB All Star Game. Baseball has always been the All Star game that is closest to how the real game is played which makes it the most fun. I included a Home Run Derby moment in there as well. Let’s see if you can remember which moment I’m speaking of. Please respond and comment as always these lists are made for banter and discussion.
#12. Ichiro’s inside the Park Home Run (2007 San Francisco)
We would say 2004 was the height of Ichiro Suzuki’s awesome powers as he broke a likely untouchable record of 262 hits for a single Season. But 2007 was pretty awesome as well. You can thank the odd dimension’s of ATT Park in the Bay Area for assisting with this but also Ichiro’s blazing speed made this look like a jog in the park!
#11. Larry Walker/John Kruk faces Randy Johnson (1993, 1997 Baltimore/Cleveland)
In the 90s and early 2000s there wasn’t anything more intimidating in baseball than a left handed hitter stepping into the box against Randy Johnson. John Kruk had a pitch from the big unit thrown behind his head in 1993. Which sparked some laughter and one of the worst at bats you’ll ever see at any level of baseball. The 1997 All Star game saw same thing happened when Larry Walker had a pitch thrown behind his head. He went to a knee and then got up and put his helmet on backwards and stepped into the right handed batters box for the following pitch. It was a fun and memorable All Star game moment and for good measure Walker had a much better at bat than Kruk did which when concluded with a walk.
#10. The Tie (2002 Milwaukee)
What sparked one of the Most ridiculous ideas that went on from 2003-2016 was the slogan “this time it counts”. What that phrase was referring to was the MLB All Star game which the League that won got home field advantage in the World Series. It actually did not matter in 2014 and 2016 as the visiting team would win the deciding Game 7’s (Giants and Cubs respectively, and when Madison Bumgarner was still very good at pitching). What triggered this radical change was the 2002 All Star game that ended in an 7-7 tie after 11 innings because both teams ran out of pitchers. It was an overreaction to what Bud Selig and his brass forgot was an exhibition game (by the many boos these fans in attendance must have forgot as well). As we look back on it who cares if the game ends in an tie and of course an exhibition game should not decide home field advantage in the World Series. Maybe the most ridiculous idea from a sport that has had many ridiculous ideas over the years.
#9. Pete Rose collides with Ray Frose (1970 Cincinnati)
Pete Rose Hall of Fame debate is one of the most tiring topics in Sports over the last 30 years. One of the things that was always admired about the man the call Charlie Hustles game was that he played hard every inning of every game (no matter when, where or what was at stake). In the 1970 All Star game at Rose’s home ball park with the score tied at 4 in the bottom of the 12th the Cubs Jim Hickman singled to center and Pete Rose came around to score the winning run. Rose would collide with Indians catcher Ray Fosse and separate his shoulder in the process. If you watched the highlight the ball wasn’t even at home plate yet and Rose could have scored standing up. But Pete Rose only played the game one way, full throttle at all times. If this happened today Rose would be suspended 10 games and twitter would explode.
#8. Bo Jackson’s Leadoff Homer (1989 Anaheim)
1989 was right in the middle of America’s Bocenaissance, or as I call it the age of Bo. Bo Jackson was an All Star center fielder for the Royals and a Pro Bowl Running back for the Raiders. He was one of the first Nike Icon with his Bo knows commercials. Bo Jackson was one of the most endeared athletes of my entire lifetime. One of Bo’s most memorable moments in either sport was his leadoff homerun in the 1989 All Star game in Anaheim (an absolute bomb to dead center). Vin Scully’s call was also a thing of legend (“Bo Jackson says Hello”), even the biggest Dodger haters cannot hate Vin Scully.
#7. Torii Hunter Robs Barry Bonds (Milwaukee 2002)
We are back to the 2002 All Star game for a second time. Barry Bonds stepped into the batters box in the bottom of the 1st inning of the 2002 All Star Game. In 2002 Barry Bonds would maybe see one pitch a game to hit as early 2000s Barry Bonds was the most feared hitter of my lifetime and probably most fear hitter since Babe Ruth. But in the All Star game Bonds was going to get a fair shake against the Red Sox Derek Lowe. Bonds would do what he normally does when he gets a pitch to hit and hit the ball into orbit at Miller Park in Milwaukee. But on this drive the Twins Torii Hunter would make arguably the greatest defensive play of the All Star game and one of the most iconic catches of the 2000s. Bonds had a good laugh about it and picked Hunter up and carried him around for a minute. You can pick up other guys as well if you work out and eat right!!
#6. Reggie Jackson light tower power (Detroit 1971)
You may have heard the term light tower power. Reggie Jackson was one of the best Power hitters of the 1970s and was truly one of the first sluggers in baseball history that would swing for the fences in every at bat as he struck out more than anyone in baseball during this time. But the man dubbed as Mr. October would hit the ball very far when he connected. He would connect on a Dock Ellis slider and then some in the 1971 All Star Game. How much you say? 520 foot blast that hit the light towers on the top of Tigers stadium, Tigers stadium truly was an epic old school ball park, not far from the legendary status of a Fenway or Wrigley in my opinion.
#5. Josh Hamilton’s Homerun derby (2008 New York)
Josh Hamilton did not even win the 2008 home run derby. That would be won by the Twins Justin Morneau. But no one cared that he didn’t win the homerun derby. His first round display at the old Yankees stadium was a moment made for fiction. Josh Hamilton was one of the top prospects of the 1990s coming out of high school but substance abuse ruined the early part of his career. He would get sober and get a second chance with the Texas Rangers and would become one of the best power hitters in the game in the late 2000s and early 2010s. He showed his true talent in the 2008 homerun derby in that first round hitting balls almost completely out of Yankees stadium, a must rewatch.
#4. Cal Ripken Jr.’s blast (2001 Seattle)
Cal Ripken Jr. was the Iron man of baseball. He was a pillar of the game for almost 20 years as he played literally every game the Orioles had from 1983-1998. Why Cal Ripken’s streak was so inspiring and important was that it assembled what is at the root of American culture. You wake up, go to work, work hard and provide for your family and you do this everyday because it’s the right thing to do. Cal Ripken’s consecutive game streak is one of the most unbreakable streaks in all of sports with how sports is played and seen today by it’s organizations and players. So when the Iron Man came up to bat in his final All Star game and took a Chan Ho Park fastball over the fence at Safeco Field in Seattle it was one of the most remembered moments in All Star game history from one of it’s most beloved stars. Gives me goosebumps everytime I watch.
#3. Ted Williams Walkoff Homerun (1941 Detroit)
We head back to Detroit and the year is 1941. 1941 was a legendary year in the history of offense in baseball. Joe Dimaggio had his 56 game hitting streak (another streak likely to never be broken) that year. Another legend of this time also had a great year in 1941. Ted Williams hit .406 that year (.400 is another baseball feat we may never see again) and he hit which is still to this day the only walk off homerun in All Star Game history to give the AL a 7-5 win.
#2. Pedro Martinez dominance (1999 Boston)
In 1999 Pedro Martinez was at the height of his super powers. In the middle of the steroid ERA Pedro had these years. 97 1.90 ERA 305 K’s 219 ERA+. 98 2.89 ERA 251 K 163 ERA+, 1999 2.07 ERA 313 k 243 ERA+. 2000 Pedro had the best pitching season of my lifetime in all actually probably the best pitching season in the history of baseball (even 2021 Jacob Degrom is going to be hard to beat this because of the dominance of pitching overall this season thus far). 1.74 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 284 strikeouts, 291 ERA+ (or three times as good as the average AL Pitcher). To put that into context Roger Clemens had the second best AL ERA that year of 3.70 (or two runs more per nine innings!!) and only five AL pitchers total had an ERA under 4 (shows how much hitting dominated the AL in 2000). So 1999 Pedro starting at home you knew he was going to be awesome and that he was striking out 5 of the 6 batters he faced. Who did he strikeout, well Barry Larkin (hall of famer), Larry Walker (Hall of Famer and hit .379 that year), Sammy Sosa (hit 63 homers that year), Mark McGwire (hit 65 homers that year) and Jeff Bagwell (hall of Famer). It was the most awesome pitching performance by the most dominant pitcher at his peak in his home ballpark, in context this performance was simply a thing of legend.
#1. Jackie Robinson’s First All Star Game (1949 Brooklyn)
The 1949 All Star game ended in an 11-7 AL victory over the NL. The final box score was not significant but what was is Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe and Larry Doby all became the first African-American athlete’s to make it to the All Star Game. What this proved was not just that African-American baseball players and athlete’s were proving they can play with their white peers but their accomplishments and talent was being recognized as so by the fans and their peers. Jackie Robinson became the first African-American pro Athlete in 1947 and changed sports forever. In sports as in any craft in life the best should be afforded the opportunities to represent their skills on the biggest stage, to the best baseball player, to the best bartender, to the best teacher. This All Star game was a monumental moment in not just baseball history, but sports and American history. I am celebrating it today and you should as well. Thanks for reading and please comment or respond to me on this page, facebook or twitter!