2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

File:2006 MLB All-Star Game.png
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E American League 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 7 1 National League 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0
Date	July 11, 2006
Venue	PNC Park
City	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Managers	Ozzie Guillen (CWS) Phil Garner (HOU)
MVP	Michael Young (TEX)
Attendance	38,904

The 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 77th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 11 2006 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. The contest was the fifth hosted by the city of Pittsburgh. The game resulted in the American League defeating the National League 3-2, thus awarding the AL champion (which was eventually the Detroit Tigers) home-field advantage in the 2006 World Series.

Background

As with each All-Star Game since 1970, the 8 starting position players (with no designated hitter due to playing in an NL stadium) of each league were elected by fan balloting. The remaining players were selected by a players' vote, each league's team manager, and a second fan balloting to add one more player to each roster. In all, 32 players were selected to each league's team, not including players who decline to play due to injuries or personal reasons.

The game was the fourth straight All-Star Game to decide home-field advantage in the World Series. The AL entered the game on a nine-game unbeaten streak (eight wins, with one tie in 2002). Many analysts saw the disparity between the leagues as more pronounced than ever this season, particularly due to the AL's dominance during interleague play, compiling a 154-98 record, the best record for either league in the ten-year history of interleague play.

Rosters

American League

Starters
Position	Player	Team	All-Star Games
P	Kenny Rogers	Tigers	4
C	Iván Rodríguez	Tigers	13
1B	David Ortiz	Red Sox	3
2B	Mark Loretta	Red Sox	2
3B	Alex Rodriguez	Yankees	10
SS	Derek Jeter	Yankees	7
OF	Vladimir Guerrero	Angels	7
OF	Manny Ramírez	Red Sox	10
OF	Ichiro Suzuki	Mariners	6

Pitchers
Position	Player	Team	All-Star Games
P	Mark Buehrle	White Sox	3
P	José Contreras	White Sox	1
P	Roy Halladay	Blue Jays	4
P	Bobby Jenks	White Sox	1
P	Scott Kazmir	Devil Rays	1
P	Francisco Liriano	Twins	1
P	Jonathan Papelbon	Red Sox	1
P	Mark Redman	Royals	1
P	Mariano Rivera	Yankees	8
P	B.J. Ryan	Blue Jays	2
P	Johan Santana	Twins	2
P	Barry Zito	Athletics	3

Reserves
Position	Player	Team	All-Star Games
C	Joe Mauer	Twins	1
C	A. J. Pierzynski	White Sox	2
1B	Paul Konerko	White Sox	3
1B	Jim Thome	White Sox	5
2B	Robinson Canó	Yankees	1
2B	José López	Mariners	1
3B	Troy Glaus	Blue Jays	4
SS	Miguel Tejada	Orioles	4
SS	Michael Young	Rangers	3
OF	Jermaine Dye	White Sox	2
OF	Gary Matthews, Jr.	Rangers	1
OF	Magglio Ordóñez	Tigers	5
OF	Alex Ríos	Blue Jays	1
OF	Grady Sizemore	Indians	1
OF	Vernon Wells	Blue Jays	2

National League

Starters
Position	Player	Team	All-Star Games
P	Brad Penny	Dodgers	1
C	Paul Lo Duca	Mets	4
1B	Albert Pujols	Cardinals	5
2B	Chase Utley	Phillies	1
3B	David Wright	Mets	1
SS	José Reyes	Mets	1
OF	Jason Bay	Pirates	2
OF	Carlos Beltran	Mets	3
OF	Alfonso Soriano	Nationals	5

Pitchers
Position	Player	Team	All-Star Games
P	Bronson Arroyo	Reds	1
P	Chris Capuano	Brewers	1
P	Chris Carpenter	Cardinals	2
P	Brian Fuentes	Rockies	2
P	Tom Glavine	Mets	10
P	Tom Gordon	Phillies	3
P	Trevor Hoffman	Padres	5
P	Pedro Martinez	Mets	8
P	Roy Oswalt	Astros	2
P	Jason Schmidt	Giants	3
P	Derrick Turnbow	Brewers	1
P	Brandon Webb	Diamondbacks	1
P	Carlos Zambrano	Cubs	2

Reserves
Position	Player	Team	All-Star Games
C	Brian McCann	Braves	1
1B	Lance Berkman	Astros	4
1B	Nomar Garciaparra	Dodgers	6
1B	Ryan Howard	Phillies	1
2B	Dan Uggla	Marlins	1
3B	Miguel Cabrera	Marlins	3
3B	Scott Rolen	Cardinals	5
3B	Freddy Sanchez	Pirates	1
SS	David Eckstein	Cardinals	4
SS	Edgar Renteria	Braves	5
OF	Andruw Jones	Braves	5
OF	Matt Holliday	Rockies	1
OF	Carlos Lee	Brewers	2

Game

Umpires

Home Plate	Jerry Crawford
First Base	Randy Marsh
Second Base	Fidelin Culbreth
Third Base	Jeff Nelson
Left Field	Mike Everitt
Right Field	Alfonso Marquez

Starting Lineups

American League				National League
Order	Player	Team	Position	Order	Player	Team	Position
1	Ichiro Suzuki	Mariners	RF	1	Alfonso Soriano	Nationals	LF
2	Derek Jeter	Yankees	SS	2	Carlos Beltran	Mets	CF
3	David Ortiz	Red Sox	1B	3	Albert Pujols	Cardinals	1B
4	Alex Rodriguez	Yankees	3B	4	Jason Bay	Pirates	RF
5	Vladimir Guerrero	Angels	LF	5	Edgar Renteria	Braves	SS
6	Ivan Rodriguez	Tigers	C	6	David Wright	Mets	3B
7	Vernon Wells	Blue Jays	CF	7	Chase Utley	Phillies	2B
8	Mark Loretta	Red Sox	2B	8	Paul Lo Duca	Mets	C
9	Kenny Rogers	Tigers	P	9	Brad Penny	Dodgers	P

Game Summary

National League starting pitcher Brad Penny set the tone for the evening, striking out Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter, and David Ortiz to start the game. His fastball had uncharacteristic speed, never going below 96 miles per hour, and - aside from a lone curveball - was the only pitch he threw in the first inning. American League pitcher Kenny Rogers wasn't as overpowering as Penny, but still escaped the first relatively unscathed. The AL would get to Penny in the second as Vladimir Guerrero hit an opposite-field solo home run that just cleared the right field fence, giving the AL a 1-0 lead. The NL would respond in the bottom of the inning with David Wright hitting his own solo home run to left field, tying the game at 1-1.

Roy Halladay relieved Rogers in the bottom of the third. It was in this inning when the National League exemplified what it does best: playing small. Alfonso Soriano hit a single with one out and stole second base on Gold Glove catcher Ivan Rodriguez. He tried to score on a single by Carlos Beltran, but was thrown out at home plate by Vernon Wells. Beltran would advance to second on the throw, then steal third and score on a wild pitch by Halladay, giving the NL a 2-1 lead.

That lead would seem like enough for the NL for most of the evening. After Roy Oswalt relieved Penny in the third, Brandon Webb, Bronson Arroyo, Brian Fuentes, Derrick Turnbow, and Tom Gordon would each throw an inning of scoreless relief, limiting the AL to just three hits in that span. After Halladay pitched the fourth, Barry Zito, Scott Kazmir, Johan Santana, and B.J. Ryan would also each pitch an inning without giving up a run, with the only baserunner allowed on a walk by Santana, the only walk of the game.

Trevor Hoffman came on to try to earn the save in the ninth. After inducing two groundouts back to himself, it seemed like Hoffman, who, at the time, was second all-time in career saves, would finally send the American League to a loss in an All-Star Game for the first time in a decade. However, Paul Konerko hit a single to left past third baseman Miguel Cabrera, and was pinch-run for by José Lopez. Troy Glaus hit a ground rule double down the left field line, forcing Lopez to hold at third. While it looked like the National League received a break (as Lopez could have possibly scored the tying run if the ball stayed in play), Hoffman allowed a two-strike triple to Michael Young, who went on to win the MVP, scoring Lopez and Glaus and putting the AL up 3-2.

Mariano Rivera would now try to save the game for the American League. Because Lopez pinch-ran for Konerko in the top of the ninth, the American League was left without any first basemen on the roster. Glaus, in the game as a third baseman, moved to first for the bottom of the inning, a position he never played before in his career, while Lopez played third. Despite an error made by Lopez, Rivera pitched a quiet ninth to earn the save and extend the American League's unbeaten streak to ten games.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
American	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	7	1
National	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	0
WP: B.J. Ryan (1-0)   LP: Trevor Hoffman (0-1)   Sv: Mariano Rivera (1) Home runs: AL: Vladimir Guerrero (1) NL: David Wright (1)

Home Run Derby

The Century 21 Home Run Derby was held on the Monday before the game, July 10. Four players from each league competed to hit as many home runs in each round to advance and eventually win the contest. This year's Derby featured an important rule change: home runs in the first round would carry over into the second round. In previous years, some players would hit a tremendous amount of home runs in the first round, but become tired by the second round and hit relatively fewer home runs for that round, often not enough to qualify for the finals. By allowing the home runs to carry over, a player can't necessarily be "punished" for hitting an impressive total in the first round. However, like in previous Derbies, the two finalists start over at zero for the finals.

In the finals, Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies defeated David Wright of the New York Mets 5-4, and hit a total of 23 home runs on the night, leading all competitors. Howard memorably hit his winning home run into a sign guaranteeing one person in the crowd 500 free round-trip flights from Southwest Airlines.

PNC Park is distinct for having the Allegheny River running behind the right field bleachers. As a result, several balls were hit into the river on the fly (a feat that has been accomplished only once in the stadium's regular-season history), as well as many more bouncing off the walkway alongside the river. Many fans waited in the river in canoes hoping to retrieve a ball, a sight more reminiscent of the following year's All-Star Game and Home Run Derby site, AT&T Park.

For the second straight year, gold balls were utilized whenever a player had one out remaining in the round. Any home runs hit with the gold ball meant Major League Baseball and Century 21 would pledge to donate $21,000 (US) each to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Easter Seals, respectively. In all, 14 gold-ball home runs were hit, constituting $294,000 raised for each charity.

Trivia

• Penny became only the second pitcher in All-Star game history to strike out the side in the first inning. Pedro Martinez accomplished the feat in 1999, striking out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, and Sammy Sosa.
• The game was interrupted after the fourth inning for a ceremony honoring Pirates legend Roberto Clemente. FOX play-by-play announcer Joe Buck emceed the ceremony. As a result, he called the bottom of the fourth inning from the entrance behind home plate.
• The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Chuck Tanner.
• At one point 7 of the 8 position players fans could vote on in the AL were either New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox

External links

• All-Star Game Home Page
• Team Rosters
• Home Run Derby
• Game Recap and Boxscore