A great All Star Week ended in disappointment, as the game at Miller Park was called after 11 innings Tuesday night with the score tied 7-7. Both teams had run out of players.
Those fans remaining from the sellout crowd of 41,871 expressed their anger by trashing the field, and chanting "Bud sucks" and "Let them play." It was a devastating end to the first All Star Game in Milwaukee in 27 years.
Commissioner Bud Selig, the man most responsible for bringing the game to his hometown, had to be the most devastated. "Believe me, this is not the way I wanted this to end," Selig said in a post-game press conference.
"As I sat there in the last half inning, trying to think of an alternative, it became clear there was none. You have to consider the health of the players. There were no players left."
NL manager Bob Brenly and AL manager Joe Torre expressed concern about pushing pitchers Vicente Padilla and Fred Garcia beyond their limits.
"Other managers trust us with their players," Brenly said. "We can't send them back unable to play for their teams."
The tie was the second in 73 All Star Games. The 1961 game at Boston ended 1-1 because of rain.
The disappointing end will undoubtedly spur debate over expanding the team rosters beyond the current limit of 30. It also should lead to discussion about managers not trying too early to get all their players into games.
The game featured a sparkling defensive play early, when the Twins' Torii Hunter leaped in right center to rob Barry Bonds of a home run in the 1st inning.
But, Bonds made sure Hunter couldn't catch another drive in the 3rd inning, when he planted a 385-foot two-run homer into the right field stands for a 4-0 NL lead.
Damian Miller doubled home a fifth NL run in the 5th inning, but the AL fought back to take a 6-5 lead in the stop of the 7th. The White Sox' Paul Konerko had a two-run double that gave the AL the lead.
West Salem was proud again as Miller had another key double in a two-run rally in the bottom of the 7th that put the NL back up, 7-6. That lead didn't last long as the AL tied the score, 7-7, in the top of the 8th on Omar Vizquel's RBI triple.
{INSERT_RELATED}Both teams went scoreless for the next three innings. After the top of the 11th inning, the umpires, Brenly, Torre and Selig met about the situation. They then announced the bottom of the 11th would be the last inning. The fans erupted.
The tie comes in a season when a possible players' strike looms. Locally, the Brewers also are having another poor season. So, the fans had been looking to the All Star Game as one of the few bright spots.
Memorable Moments
Until the decision to call it a tie, just about everything for the night, and whole week, went beautifully. The opening ceremony Tuesday, organized around the theme of Major League Baseball Memories, was very impressive.
The fans' ovations for Milwaukee legend Henry Aaron, Willie Mays and Cal Ripken Jr. sent chills down ones spine. This writer has been fortunate to see pre-game ceremonies at an Olympics, Super Bowls and many other events and this ceremony compared favorably with any of them.
I also got to Miller Park in time to see the final rehearsal and I can vouch for how hard the participants, including many local kids, worked on making it a success.
For Milwaukee fans, it also was very fitting to see Aaron, RobinYount, Paul Molitor and Warren Spahn throw out the ceremonial first pitches. Bob Uecker served as one of their catchers.
Tributes to the late Cardinals' announcer Jack Buck, Cardinals' pitcher Darryl Kile and Red Sox legend Ted Williams also were fitting and touching. A No. 9 was uncovered in left field as a tribute to Williams. Major League Baseball also announced that the All Star Game MVP would be named after Williams. It will not be given out until next season.
The Mastercard Memorable Moments kicked off earlier in the day, at a press conference at Fanfest. A list of 30 moments was released. Fans will be able to vote for their favorite moments at major league ballparks, in special ad inserts in Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated, at a variety of Mastercard retail partners and via MLB.com.
Players Like Milwaukee
Several players said they really enjoyed their time in Milwaukee and Miller Park, and thought the city did a great job of hosting the All Star Week. "The city had waited a long time to get this," NL starting pitcher Curt Schilling said. "I thought they did a great job.
"The fans showed a lot of emotion the last couple nights. I can't tell you what it feels like to be a part of that, and to make people feel that way about the sport you play. It's oretty special."
Jason Giambi, who won the Home Run Derby on Monday night, said Miller Park was a great ballpark. "That's one of the best hitting backgrounds in the big leagues," Giambi said. "I really enjoyed myself here."
Sammy Sosa, who has played in Miller Park several times with the Cubs, said, "I really like hitting in this ballpark. I like the fans in Milwaukee. The way they clapped for me, that was something that I'm never going to forget. It's great motivation for me to continue to make people happy, and doing my job."
Yount, who served as honorary captain of the American League team, said he knew Milwaukee would be a good host. "It was very exciting for the city," Yount said. "This has been a nice year for me, because I was here for the Opening Day (with the D-Backs) and for the All Star Game."
Selig said at a press conference earlier on Tuesday that he was very proud of how Milwaukee had played host. "I thought everything went just beautifully," Selig said. "Even with all the problems (labor, etc.) we face in baseball these days, it was a very nice few days here."
Yankees' catcher Jorge Posada's young son also apparently liked Milwaukee. In perhaps the most spontaneous moment of the pre-game ceremony, the toddler ran onto the field when his father's name was announced for the AL starting lineup.
Richie and Jose
Brewer All Stars Richie Sexson and Jose Hernandez received big ovations. Sexson replaced the Rockies' Todd Helton at first base and grounded to third base in his only time up. Hernandez, who led the NL in strikeouts last season, replaced Jimmy Rollins at shortstop, struck out twice and grounded out with the potential winning run on second base in the 10th.
Milwaukee Insight Link
The All Star Game showed the potential of Miller Park as a world-class attraction, but several things have to happen, politically and in other areas, for the ballpark to have its full impact on the community. For this writer's commentary on the subject, see Milwaukee Insight at Wispolitics.com and then come back to OnMilwaukee.com for more on the All Star Game and Fanfest.
Gregg Hoffmann's Brew Crew Review column will return to weekly posting on July 18. Look also for a new column, On The Pack, starting after the Packers' first exhibition game.
