The Longest Streak – All Star Style – Nine and Counting – With one out left to go and the second most prolific closer in major league history, Trevor Hoffman, on the mound, the American League’s 8 game win streak seemed destined to come to an end Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.  However, a Paul Konerko single followed by a Troy Glaus double and then a triple by All-Star MVP Michael Young gave the AL a 3-2 lead that Mariano Rivera would not surrender as the AL beat the NL for the 9^th consecutive time and took home field advantage in the World Series for the third straight year. 

 

Vladimir Guerrero got things started for the AL in the second inning when the big slugger broke a scoreless tie with his first AS home run and RBI (in his 14^th AS AB) off of NL starter Brad Penny.  He has now hit safely in four straight AS games.  David Wright then came back in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game with a home run of his own off of AL starter Kenny Rogers.   The HR came in Wright’s first career AS at bat, making him the 13^th player in AS history to homer his first time up. 

 

The NL then used a forgotten AS tool (speed) in the third inning to help manufacture their second run and take a 2-1 lead.  Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Beltran each stole a base, one more SB than the entire NL roster had in AS play combined coming into the game.  While Soriano, following his SB, was thrown out trying to score from second by Vernon Wells on a hit by Beltran, Beltran would wind up scoring subsequently on a wild pitch after he had swiped third base moments earlier.   

 

NL manager Phil Garner then used 3 starters and 3 relievers to hold things in check and set it up for Hoffman, who came into the game unscored upon in his last 10 regular season games, but had a 10.80 ERA in 4 prior AS appearances.  When Hoffman couldn’t get it done, that set things up for Rivera, who entered his sixth career AS appearance without having given up a run over 4 1/3 AS IP.  Rivera then overcame a Jose Lopez error (playing out of position at 3B) to notch his 3^rd career AS save and extend the AL winning streak to 9 straight (ties not included). 

 

The nine game winning streak is the second longest in AS history to the NL’s 11 game streak from 1972 to 1982.  The NL leads the series all-time at 40-35-2. 

 

All Star Trivia Question – Hank Blalock was the last player before Wright (and 12^th overall) to homer in his first AS at bat when he hit an 8^th inning pinch-hit home run off Eric Gagne to help the AL win the 2003 contest.  Max West was the first to do it back in 1940.  Can you name the only Hall of Famer to have homered in his first AS at bat? (answer below)

 

The First Time is the Hardest? – A total of 23 players from both leagues came into Tuesday’s game without any previous AS experience, including 11 pitchers and 12 hitters.  All but one of those hitters saw at least some action (Dan Uggla being the lone exception) while five virgin pitchers (Chris Capuano – NL, Francisco Liriano, Mark Redman, Bobby Jenks and Jonathan Papelbon – AL) did not get into the game.  The first time proved to be toughest for the hitters, who combined to go 3 for 17 with 1 HR and 1 RBI (Wright).  The first time pitchers meanwhile fared much better, putting up this impressive combined line: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.  

 

Miscellaneous News

 

During the game on Tuesday, Bud Selig presented Roberto Clemente with the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement award.  Prior to the 5^th inning in a ceremony at home plate, Selig, accompanied by Pirate legend Bill Mazeroski, presented the award to Clemente’s widow Vera.  Clemente is the 10^th winner of the award (Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Cal Ripkin Jr., Ichiro Suzuki and the 2001 Seattle Mariners).

 

Among the items up for bid at MLB’s All Star Fan Fest Auction before the game included the first home run ball hit in an All Star game.  Babe Ruth hit the home run off of Bill Hallahan in the first All-Star game at Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1933.  Tuesday, it was auctioned off and sold for $805,000.  A bat purported to have been used by Ruth to hit his then record setting 59^th HR in 1921 went for $483,000.

 

Jose Canseco went 0 for 4 with 4 more strikeouts in Long Beach’s 7-6 win over the Fullerton Flyers on Monday night, leaving the big slugger 1 for 10 with 8 strikeouts in 3 games for the Armada after going 0 for 3 with 3 K in one game for the San Diego Surf Dawgs.  There were no bids on his bat.

 

Bode Miller will trade in his downhill skis for a glove and bat for a night after the Olympian signed a one-game contract with the Independent Nashua Pride on Monday.  Miller will take the field on July 29 against the Brockton Rox with a minimum of $5,000 going to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research.  No word yet on what position he might play.

 

All Star History – Did You Know…

 

Three players – Mickey Mantle, Joe Morgan and Dave Winfield – are tied for the longest consecutive game hitting streak in AS history at 7 games.  Winfield also holds the record for most career AS doubles with 7.

 

The career record for triples is 3, held jointly by two players, Willie Mays and that noted speedster, Brooks Robinson.

 

Mays and Hank Aaron played on the most winning AS teams (17) while Robinson played on the most losing teams (15).

 

Fred Lynn (second on the all-time AS list with 4 career HR), hit the only grand slam in AS history back on July 6, 1983 at Comiskey Park against Atlee Hammaker of the Giants. 

 

The most runs scored by one team in a single inning in an AS game is 7, done by the AL in that ‘83 contest (backed by Lynn’s GS).  Hammaker gave up all seven to set the record for the most earned runs allowed by a single pitcher in an inning.

 

The most runs scored by one team in an AS game is 13, set of course by that ’83 AL team and matched in 1992 and 1998 by the American League squads.

 

Five players have led off an AS game with a home run.  Frankie Frisch was the first to do it when he led off the ’34 game with a round tripper.  Bo Jackson was the most recent player to do it when he led off the 1989 game by going deep.  Lou Boudreau, Willie Mays and Joe Morgan were the others.  Rickey Henderson, who led off a game with a home run a record 80 times in his career, played in 10 AS games, leading off six, and never hit a leadoff jack. 

 

Frisch also homered along with Babe Ruth in the first AS game in ’33, thus hitting both the second and third HR in AS history.  Those balls have netted $0 in auction.

 

Jim Palmer holds the record for the most HR allowed in a single AS game with 3 in 1977 (Luzinkski, Garvey and Morgan’s leadoff HR).

 

Back-to-back home runs have only been hit 5 times in AS game history, including just once by the NL (Steve Garvey and Jimmy Wynn – July 15, 1975).  Al Rosen and Ray Boone were the first to go back-to-back in 1954.  Derek Jeter and Magglio Ordonez were the last to do it in 2001.  Bo Jackson and Wade Boggs did it in 1989 when Jackson led off the contest with a HR. Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle did it in 1956.

 

The pitchers who gave up those back to back jacks were: Robin Roberts (’54), Warren Spahn (’56), Vida Blue (’75), Atlee Hammaker (’83) and Rick Reuschel (’89). 

 

Four players have stolen four bases in an AS game.  Willie Mays was the first to do it in 1963.  Two players (Kelly Gruber in 1990 and Robbie Alomar in 1992) did it as Blue Jays while Kenny Lofton in 1996, was the last player to grab four bags in a game. 

 

Pie Traynor is the only player to have stolen home in an AS game (on the front end of a double steal with Mel Ott in 1934).

 

All-Star Trivia Answer – Although DN&N thinks an awful lot of David Wright and his chances of one day joining baseball’s elite in the HOF, for now (and for many years yet to come) Johnny Bench remains the only HOF’er in All-Star history to have gone deep in his very first AS at bat.   

 

On Deck – With no games on tap for today, we look ahead to Thursday, and though the schedule is light, the most intriguing match up figures to come to us from Minnesota, where Francisco Liriano (10-1, 1.83) currently is scheduled to be on the bump for the Twins while Cliff Lee (8-6, 4.76) is set to take the ball for Cleveland.  Lee has had an erratic year so far for the Tribe, going 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA in April, 1-4, 7.79 in May, 4-0, 3.09 in June and 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA so far in July.  Liriano is 6-0 with a 1.23 ERA in his last 6 starts and has not allowed a run in his two starts in July, covering 15 innings.

 

Wish You Were Here – Stepping outside the world of baseball, DN&N pays a heavy heartfelt tribute to Syd Barrett, as it was announced on Tuesday that the former Pink Floyd guitarist, founder and musical genius has passed away at the age of 60.  Though increasing pressures of fame and his own extensive use of LSD forced his early exit from the band in 1968 (a year before I was born), Syd’s music – including such classics as See Emily Play, Gigolo Aunt and Arnold Layne – nonetheless made a huge impact on my own life and his passing leaves a empty space in my heart that will never be filled. 

 

Though you have already been missed for years Syd, in the hearts of Floyd fans everywhere, you’ve never really been gone at all.  Shine on you crazy diamond, shine on.

 

1/6/1946 – Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett – 7/7/2006

 

Remember when you were young you shined like the sun…