FanPost

Oscar's Recap: The 2002 MLB All Star Game

Hello friends. While we are here at the All Star break and don't have any baseball to watch, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the infamous 2002 version of the Midsummer Classic held in beautiful Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Of course, I watched it when it happened and remember all of the glitz and glamour that come with hosting an All Star game, but I don't remember many of the details of the game itself. So take a jump with me back to 2002 as I rewatch to examine what the baseball world was like then.

Pregame

We open with Miller Park public address announcer Robb Edwards introducing all of the players selected for tonight's game. Ted Williams is being honored tonight with his number 9 painted in the left field grass, as he had just passed away a few days before the game. Recently deceased Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile is also being memorialized tonight with his jersey hanging in the National League dugout. Brewers legends Richie Sexson and Jose Hernandez are given long standing ovations when they are announced. Robin Yount is the "captain" for the American League. I guess that makes sense because he exclusively played in the AL, but it is a little weird considering both his former team (the Brewers) and current employer (the DBacks) are in the other dugout. His 1982 World Series counterpart Ozzie Smith is the NL captain. Let's take a look at the starting lineups!

American League
RF - Ichiro Suzuki (SEA)
3B - Shea Hillenbrand (BOS)
SS - Alex Rodriguez (TEX)
1B - Jason Giambi (NYY)
LF - Manny Ramirez (BOS)
C - Jorge Posada (NYY)
CF - Torii Hunter (MIN)
2B - Alfonso Soriano (NYY)
P - Derek Lowe (BOS)

National League
2B - Jose Vidro (MTL)
1B - Todd Helton (COL)
LF - Barry Bonds (SF)
RF - Sammy Sosa (CHC)
CF - Vladimir Guerrero (MTL)
C - Mike Piazza (NYM)
3B - Scott Rolen (PHI)
SS - Jimmy Rollins (PHI)
P - Curt Schilling (ARI)

Somebody named Anastacia sings the National Anthem, the roof is open, and we are ready to go. Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, Paul Molitor, and Robin Yount are throwing out the first pitches to Bob Uecker and three other catchers.

1st Inning

Curt Schilling is out on the mound, and it's noted by our announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver that he has more wins (14) than walks (13) in the first half. I know Schilling is a bit of a controversial figure in the present day, but here he is fresh off of being a postseason hero and he's having a great year, leading the majors with 186 strikeouts already. Also, New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is sitting next to Joe Torre in the AL dugout. He's there for the entire game, just hanging out with the Yankees coaches. Post-9/11 baseball is wild. He gets a nice ovation from the crowd.

Schilling gets through Suzuki and Hillenbrand pretty easily and when A-Rod comes up, Buck says Schilling was jawing with him before the game that he would throw him nothing but fastballs and still get him out. 97, 96 97, and A-Rod strikes out on three pitches. In the bottom half of the inning, Derek Lowe gets a couple of groundouts before being saved by the second most notable thing about this game, Torii Hunter robbing Bonds of a homer with an insane catch. Some might say everything went downhill from here.

2nd Inning

With the crowd still buzzing about Hunter's catch McCarver says, "Last November, the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos were to be dismissed this year in baseball. THIS is contraction right here." Ha ha ha. They're already talking about giving Hunter the MVP award of this game. Schilling gives up a hit but gets through the inning unscathed. Sammy Sosa leads off with a single up the middle, but then gets thrown out trying to get to third on Vlad Guerrero's hit to left. Before another pitch is thrown, Lowe BALKS! Crazy, right? Guerrero advances to third, then scores on a groundout. Buck: "There's National League baseball at its best. Get him on, balk him over, get him in." This is where I should mention both managers have earpieces in for the entire game. Buck checks in with them every other inning, so I think they might have been listening to him for the entire game.

3rd Inning

Buck is chatting with Joe Torre and they talk about Giuliani and how strong of a leader he has been following the terrorist attacks. He apparently could have been wearing a uniform for this game, but he declined and wore a shirt and tie instead. Torre and Brenly are now talking to each other and Torre says he wants a mulligan on game 7 of the World Series. In the bottom half of the inning, we get footage of Todd Helton playing quarterback for Tennessee. Peyton Manning taking over the starting job is what made Helton commit fully to baseball, and he gets an RBI single. Barry Bonds comes up next and crushes a 3-0 pitch far enough that Hunter couldn't rob it to give the NL a 4-0 lead. 2002 Barry Bonds is just as terrifying of a hitter as I remember.

4th Inning

Richie Sexson and Junior Spivey enter the game, which is cool because they would be traded for each other in a year and a half from now. Bonds is interviewed in the dugout and says "Milwaukee is a great city." Gotta say I agree, Barry. Buck and McCarver talk about there being FIVE shortstops on this AL roster. They're all worthy players, and McCarver says Jeter's play in Oakland last year will never be forgotten (he's right!) They then start talking about how George Steinbrenner might be making the other owners look bad with how much he keeps spending on the Yankees, and how that might lead to a work stoppage soon. A lot of work stoppage speculation in this one since the 1994 strike was only 8 years before this. Buck says Selig should have blocked the trade of Raul Mondesi to the Yankees, but things are complicated because the league maybe shouldn't police trades since they own the Expos and are responsible for any of their trades. Buck: "The Montreal Expos' value as a team shot up with the addition of Bartolo Colon." The AL finally gets on the board with an RBI single by Manny Ramirez.

5th Inning

Ueck is in the booth! McCarver is cackling at everything he says. Ueck says he appreciated rooming with McCarver because at least he let him in the room. Buck: "Were you married back then?" Ueck: "Not to Tim." Uecker then tells his story about during the 1964 World Series, he tried to catch fly balls during BP with a tuba and it cost him $250. "A couple went down the hole and 6 or 7 hit the rim." Eric Gagne gives up a solo homer to Alfonso Soriano and the score is 4-2. In the bottom of the inning, they go to the Pepsi fan cam and play the Laverne and Shirley theme song. La Crosse legend Damian Miller hits an RBI double off the wall because Jimmy Rollins is really fast, and the NL increases its lead to 5-2. They check in with Bob Brenly again and he says Craig Counsell is his MVP this season because he's the glue that holds the team together.

The upcoming Vin Diesel movie xXx is advertised on the blimp above the field and Buck remarks that they stole the logo from the XFL.

6th Inning

It's Trevor Time! Hoffman gives up a double to Paul Konerko, but gets Jorge Posada to strike out to end the inning on a nasty changeup. Barry Zito is in to pitch for the AL and is referred to as a "free spirit" because he does yoga to calm himself. We get some clips of him doing yoga and he's taken out after facing only Shawn Green. I wouldn't worry about it though, it's not like they're gonna run out of pitchers. The lefty Zito is replaced by lefty Eddie Guardado, who leads the AL in saves. Buck makes fun of his white shoes, saying he got them from a bowling alley. Jose Hernandez strikes out because of course he does.

7th Inning

Braves reliever Mike Remlinger is in the game, but comes up limping after trying to cover first on a ground ball. He stays in the game, which seems risky for an exhibition game, but whatever. He lets up a run and Brenly puts in his own closer, Byung-Hyun Kim. Kim struggled in the previous World Series, but he's doing well enough that his manager could justify having him on the roster to, uh, give up three runs. The AL leads 6-5 now. Scott Rolen is still in the game for some reason and gets his third at-bat of the night, while his teammate Jimmy Rollins has already changed into street clothes. I feel like he probably left the stadium after this interview. McCarver: "Some of these players have their own personal battles. You mentioned Scott Rolen, his battle with his contract. Mike Lowell's battle with testicular cancer." Yikes. Lowell hits a single and pride of La Crosse Damien Miller hits his second double of the night. Lance Berkman drives them both in and it's a 7-6 lead for the NL.

8th Inning

A stats leaderboard is shown, sponsored by Circuit City (RIP in peace.) The Bud Selig talk starts as Buck tells the history of baseball teams in Milwaukee. McCarver says Joe Torre bought his first every car from Selig back when he was on the Milwaukee Braves, which is fun and weird connection. Buck: "It's about this time where managers start to sweat about being tied after 9 innings." On the very next pitch, Omar Vizquel hits an RBI triple to tie the game. What do you know, Joe? That ball might have been a homer with the current dimensions of Miller Park with the "drunk tank" added, but it's just a triple here, and they can't drive him in. In the bottom of the inning, Jose Hernandez strikes out because of course he does. McCarver brings up the fact that the first All Star game in Milwaukee in 1955 went to 12 innings. Could we be in store for something like that again?

9th Inning

John Smoltz is in the game now for the NL, and strikes out Tony Bautista, who is still shook after almost being run over by the Italian sausage. Buck congratulates Torre on getting all of his position players into the game, but Torre is concerned that the score is tied. McCarver calls Giants catcher Benito Santiago the second most important player for them and that San Fran be in trouble without him. He hits a single, but MLB home run leader Lance Berkman pops out and we are heading to extras.

10th Inning

Buck says that this is the first All Star game to go to extra innings since 1994. Uh oh. Like I said, they're really concerned about a work stoppage. Phillies starter Vicente Padilla is in and the NL is officially out of pitchers. Hero of La Crosse Damian Miller is being interviewed and says he only got tickets for his immediate family, just 17 people. Brenly is laughing that he doesn't have to look at his scorecard now that everyone has been used. Adam Dunn crushes a ball to center and gets the crowd up, but it falls just short of the wall. So close. Brenly says he only wants Padilla to throw three innings at maximum so that he doesn't put him at risk. Shawn Green singles, then steals second on a strikeout of Andruw Jones, so it's all up to Brewer Jose Hernandez to be the hero. He makes contact! But it's right to third baseman Tony Bautista and we are going to keep playing.

11th Inning

Omar Vizquel leads off with a walk, and now the pressure is starting to set in that we might be in trouble. McCarver points out that there is a rule that an injured catcher can be replaced by someone who was already used, which isn't really helpful for our upcoming problem, but I like where his head is at. Vizquel advances to second on a groundout, and Mariners pitcher Freddy Garcia, who has surprisingly good career batting stats going 6 for 20, is taking our first pitcher at-bat of the night. He grounds out to short, allowing Vizquel to move up to third. However, he is stranded there as Bautista hits a lazy fly ball to right, and now the managers are meeting with Selig to discuss what their plan should be. Buck and McCarver are speculating that this could be the last half inning. "Sweetness" by Jimmy Eat World is playing over the speakers while these men try to figure out what to do. Freddy Garcia has been warming up for about 5 minutes now, and they finally start the game action again. Luis Castillo flies out to center for the first out of the inning, and Robb Edwards tells the fans that the game will end in a tie if a run isn't scored here. Turns out the fans did not like that and they start booing constantly. McCarver thinks they shouldn't have told everyone ahead of time that this could end in a tie because now people are upset, but I get that they wanted to warn them of what was going to happen. Buck notes that it's ironic that Selig is getting booed in his home stadium. Mike Lowell gets a base hit! There's hope! Vicente Padilla now has to hit, and while he's not able to get a bunt down, Lowell advances on a ball that got away from Pierzynski. It's all up to Benito Santiago to save us from this nothingness. The crowd is going wild chanting "Let them play!" On a 2-2 pitch, Garcia drops in a curveball that Santiago watches go by, and the game is over. They did it. It ended in a tie. Players and coaches from both teams are leaving the field as quickly as they can, probably in fear of a riot, and that's it.

Conclusion

So what did we learn? Well, I'm not really sure. It was probably the right call to have the game end in a tie instead of having managers overuse pitchers that aren't on their teams. Having Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in their ears for an entire game probably wore down Brenly and Torre. MLB All Star games in Milwaukee appear to be cursed to either go into extra innings or be close to it. Also, I have never really understood the phrase "a tie is like kissing your sister" but maybe the phrase could be updated to "a tie is like a Bud Selig shrug." Looking back on this though, we all remember how this game ended. I can't say the same for most of the All Star games I have seen in my life (although in recent years, just guessing that the AL won is a safe bet.) This game was a fascinating look at what baseball was like not that long ago, with concerns about contraction, the Expos' future, the Yankees spending too much money and making the other teams look bad, and I don't know why anyone pitched to Barry Bonds in 2002. You can watch the game yourself on Youtube right here if you want. This game happened 17 years ago, and while it is a quirky legacy to have, I would hope Milwaukee's turn to host the All Star game again comes in the near future. Just keep more pitchers in reserve just in case.