The American League was still suffering from the previous year's shutout and was determined to make a comeback in Cleveland. They got their wish due to the late-game heroics of Indians catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr., who thrilled his hometown fans with a two-run, game-deciding home run in the seventh inning.
A repeat of the '95 classic, the National League hitters managed only three hits off of eight American League pitchers. Both teams traded solo home runs with Seattle's Edgar Martinez hitting one in the second inning and Atlanta's Javier Lopez becoming the eleventh player to homer in his first All-Star game at-bat in the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, Bernie Williams drew a one-out walk from the Giants Shawn Estes. One out later, Alomar became the first All-Star to earn Most Valuable Player honors in his home ballpark when he blasted an Estes pitch into the left field bleachers. The American League was back and they were only getting started.
"It was kind of humid out there. The ball just slipped out of my hand. You saw it. I went right to the resin bag. I guess it was kind of apropos that it slipped while Larry Walker was up." - Randy Johnson
1997 All-Star Game1997 All-Star Game Official Program |
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1997 All-Star Game Fast Facts | ||
Game Number | 68 | |
Date / Box Score | 07-08-1997 | |
Location | Jacobs Field | |
Attendance (Rank) | 44,916 | |
M.V.P. Award | Sandy Alomar, Jr. | |
O' Canada | The McAuley Boys | |
The Star Spangled Banner | Undetermined | |
1st Pitch | From | To |
Larry Doby | Ivan Rodriguez | |
League Items | A.L. | N.L. |
Starting Pitchers | Randy Johnson | Greg Maddux |
Managers | Joe Torre | Bobby Cox |
Coaches | Mike Hargrove | Dusty Baker |
Johnny Oates | Bruce Bochy | |
Honorary Captains | Larry Doby | Frank Robinson |
1997 All-Star Game Fast Facts |
1997 All Star GameLine Score |
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1997 All-Star Game Capsule | ||||||||||||
League | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
National | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
American | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | x | 3 | 7 | 0 |
N.L. Pitcher(s) | A.L. Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Greg Maddux Curt Schilling (3rd) Kevin Brown (5th) Pedro Martinez (6th) Shawn Estes (L, 7th) Bobby Jones (8th) - - |
Randy Johnson Roger Clemens (3rd) David Cone (4th) Justin Thompson (5th) Pat Hentgen (6th) Jose Rosado (W, 7th) Randy Myers (8th) Mariano Rivera (S, 9th) |
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N.L. Home Runs | A.L. Home Runs | |||||||||||
Javy Lopez (7th) - |
Edgar Martinez (2nd) Sandy Alomar, Jr. (7th) |
1997 All-Star GameNational League All-Star Squad |
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Lineup | Name | Team | Position | Notes |
Moises Alou | Florida Marlins | OF | ||
5. | Jeff Bagwell | Houston Astros | 1B | |
Rod Beck | San Francisco Giants | P | Did Not Pitch | |
1. | Craig Biggio | Houston Astros | 2B | |
9. | Jeff Blauser | Atlanta Braves | SS | |
3. | Barry Bonds | San Francisco Giants | OF | |
Kevin Brown | Florida Marlins | P | ||
7. | Ken Caminiti | San Diego Padres | 3B | |
Royce Clayton | St. Louis Cardinals | SS | ||
Shawn Estes | San Francisco Giants | P | ||
Steve Finley | San Diego Padres | OF | ||
Andres Galarraga | Colorado Rockies | 1B | ||
Tom Glavine | Atlanta Braves | P | Injured | |
Mark Grace | Chicago Cubs | 1B | ||
2. | Tony Gwynn | San Diego Padres | OF | |
Todd Hundley | New York Mets | C | Injured | |
Charles Johnson | Florida Marlins | C | ||
Bobby Jones | New York Mets | P | ||
Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves | 3B | ||
Darryl Kile | Houston Astros | P | Did Not Pitch | |
8. | Ray Lankford | St. Louis Cardinals | OF | |
Barry Larkin | Cincinnati Reds | SS | Injured | |
Kenny Lofton | Atlanta Braves | OF | Injured | |
Javy Lopez | Atlanta Braves | C | ||
Greg Maddux | Atlanta Braves | P | Starting Pitcher | |
Pedro Martinez | Montreal Expos | P | ||
Denny Neagle | Atlanta Braves | P | Did Not Pitch | |
4. | Mike Piazza | Los Angeles Dodgers | C | |
Curt Schilling | Philadelphia Phillies | P | ||
6. | Larry Walker | Colorado Rockies | OF | |
Tony Womack | Pittsburgh Pirates | 2B | ||
BOLD = Fan's choice to start the game (Manager chooses pitcher). |
1997 All-Star GameAmerican League All-Star Squad |
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Lineup | Name | Team | Position | Notes |
9. | Roberto Alomar | Baltimore Orioles | 2B | |
Sandy Alomar, Jr. | Cleveland Indians | C | MVP | |
1. | Brady Anderson | Baltimore Orioles | OF | |
Albert Belle | Chicago White Sox | OF | Did Not Play | |
Jeff Cirillo | Milwaukee Brewers | 3B | ||
Roger Clemens | Toronto Blue Jays | P | ||
David Cone | New York Yankees | P | ||
Joey Cora | Seattle Mariners | 2B | ||
Jason Dickson | Anaheim Angels | P | Did Not Pitch | |
Nomar Garciaparra | Boston Red Sox | SS | ||
3. | Ken Griffey, Jr. | Seattle Mariners | OF | |
Pat Hentgen | Toronto Blue Jays | P | ||
Randy Johnson | Seattle Mariners | P | Starting Pitcher | |
David Justice | Cleveland Indians | OF | Injured | |
Chuck Knoblauch | Minnesota Twins | 2B | ||
4. | Tino Martinez | New York Yankees | 1B | |
5. | Edgar Martinez | Seattle Mariners | DH | |
Mark McGwire | Oakland Athletics | 1B | ||
Mike Mussina | Baltimore Orioles | P | Did Not Pitch | |
Randy Myers | Baltimore Orioles | P | ||
6. | Paul O'Neill | New York Yankees | OF | |
7. | Cal Ripken, Jr. | Baltimore Orioles | SS | |
Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees | P | ||
2. | Alex Rodriguez | Seattle Mariners | SS | |
8. | Ivan Rodriguez | Texas Rangers | C | |
Jose Rosado | Kansas City Royals | P | ||
Frank Thomas | Chicago White Sox | 1B | Injured | |
Jim Thome | Cleveland Indians | 1B | ||
Justin Thompson | Detroit Tigers | P | ||
Bernie Williams | New York Yankees | OF | ||
BOLD = Fan's choice to start the game (Manager chooses pitcher).Game / Box Links: 1997 Box Score | 1997 Play-by-Play |
The National League lineup included sluggers / future Hall of Famers Mike Piazza, Larry Walker and Barry Bonds yet they managed to only get three (3) hits off the entire American League pitching staff.
The most memorable moment happened when Larry Walker stepped up to the plate versus Randy Johnson. The first pitch sailed high over Walker's head. Walker, who is left handed, stepped out, turned his helmet around, then stepped back up to the plate right handed (and took a strike).
This particular game was the first one where American League fans were able to select a designated hitter and the Mariners' own Edgar Martinez took that honor.