The MLB All-Star game is once again upon us and felt obliged to make a post about it (maybe its just cause I got out of work early today, who really knows).
A little History: Many don't know, but the All-Star game's origin is right here in Chicago. The idea for the All-Star game came from Arch Ward, the sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, as an attraction for the 1933 World's Fair, which was being held in Chicago. The game was played at Comiskey Park and was supposed to be a one-time thing. But, the event proved to be so popular that it was incorporated as an annual event on the baseball calendar.
More recently: Anyway, for those of you non-diehard baseball fans, you may be interested in knowing that the American League is currently on a 11 year winning streak (not counting of course the infamous 2002 debacle in which the game ended in a 7-7 tie). While many are awed by this streak, you don't have to look that far back to be impressed that the National League won every All-Star game from 1963 to 1982 except for the 1971 game in Detroit (thats 19 games in 20 years). Also, since that 2002 disaster, the All-Star game now means something (Remember the '03 slogan: This one counts!) as the winning league gets home-field advantage in the World Series. Can the National League finally right the ship and bring the home-field advantage back? We'll find out.
The Derby and the Game: Prince Fielder won the Home Run Derby last night, blasting one of his 23 homeruns an estimated 503 feet. The real question though is: can he hit one in the game itself? According to MLB.com, only 3 players since the inception of the Home Run Derby in 1985 have won the Derby AND hit a home run in the actual All-Star game. They were Cal Ripken Jr. (1991), Frank Thomas (1995), and Garret Anderson (2003) (Interesting note: Ripken and Anderson also went on to win the All-Star MVP Award those years as well). Fielder is coming off the bench and will replaced Albert Pujols who is getting the start at first base. Depending how long, Charlie Manuel plays Pujols, I'd guess that Fielder should get maybe 2 ABs to add his name to this spot in history. I'd say that the matchups that favor him hitting one out of the park are against Mariano Rivera (given up 5 HR in 37 IP) and Mark Beurhle (17 HR in 118 IP). He'll have no chance against Joe Nathan (2 HR in 34.1 IP), Zack Grienke (4HR in 127 IP), or Andrew Bailey (3 HR in 51.2 IP). Should be interesting to see how this one plays out.
The Cure's prediction: AL beats the NL for the 12th straight time 5-3.
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