It’s July and that means MLB All-Star game odds are posted and ready
for July 14. The Midsummer Classic is fun to wager on, especially since the
game really means something to both teams, but it’s also fun to just enjoy it
for the love of the game. Let’s look back at some of the most memorable
All-Star Game moments of all time.
5. Josh
Hamilton’s Home Run Derby magic (2008)
Am I cheating right away here? It’s not from the
actual All-Star Game, but it was a special moment during the 2008 All-Star
festivities. Having battled back from drug addiction, former No. 1 overall pick
Josh Hamilton dazzled at the Home Run Derby, smashing 28 homers in one
round. That’s not a misprint and it’s
clearly a record. I’m betting management in Cincinnati wouldn’t mind
having him back.
4. The tie
(2002)
Top moments don’t always have to be positive. The
2002 All-Star Game will live on in infamy forever. After each team used up
every reliever and spare pitcher through 11 innings, Commissioner Bud Selig
called the game and received a chorus of boos from the crowd. The good news:
the reaction hit home, as the rules were changed the following year to award
the All-Star Game winner home field in the World Series.
3. Stan the
Man completes the comeback (1955)
Imagine if a turnaround like this happened today?
A lot of people would get cleaned out at the offshore sportsbook. Completing the greatest
comeback in All-Star Game history, Stan Musial hit a walkoff homer in the
bottom of the 12th off Frank Sullivan as the National League rallied
from a 5-0 deficit. You can’t write that kind of stuff.
2. Randy
Johnson terrorizes John Kruk (1993)
In one of the most hilarious at-bats not just in
All-Star Game history, but in baseball history, 6’10” flamethrower Randy
Johnson, then a rising superstar, had rugged Phillies first baseman John Kruk
shaking in his boots. The Big Unit sailed a 100 MPH fastball over Kruk’s head
and had him ducking and swinging wildly throughout the at-bat before sitting
him down on strikes.
1. Charlie
Hustle earns his nickname (1970)
Is there a more iconic play in Pete Rose’s career
than the end of the 1970 All-Star Game? Running home during a tie game on a hit
by Jim Hickman, Rose never slowed down once Indians’ catcher Ray Fosse caught
the ball at home plate. Rose lowered the shoulder and bowled Fosse over,
knocking the ball loose and giving the National League a controversial win that
no one foresaw in their sports predictions.