2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

MLB All-Star Game


year=2007
visitor=American League
top1=0
top2=0
top3=0
top4=0
top5=2
top6=1
top7=0
top8=2
top9=0
visitor_r=5
visitor_h=10
visitor_e=0
home=National League
bot1=1
bot2=0
bot3=0
bot4=0
bot5=0
bot6=1
bot7=0
bot8=0
bot9=2
home_r=4
home_h=9
home_e=1
date=July 10, 2007
venue=AT&T Park
city=San Francisco, California
VisitorManager=Jim Leyland
VisitorManagerTeam=DET
HomeManager=Tony La Russa
HomeManagerTeam=STL
MVP=Ichiro Suzuki
MVPTeam=SEA
TVstation=FOX
TVcommentators=Joe Buck, Tim McCarver
Ken Rosenthal (on-field reporter)
attendance=43,965
firstpitch=Willie Mays|

The 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 78th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 10, 2007, at AT&T Park, the home of the NL's San Francisco Giants. It marked the third game held in San Francisco, California (but the fourth overall in the Bay Area, with Oakland hosting once) and the second straight held in an NL ballpark.

The American League defeated the National League by a score of 5-4. As per the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement, the American League champion (which eventually came to be the Boston Red Sox) received home field advantage in the 2007 World Series.cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061024&content_id=1722211&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |title=MLB, union announce new labor deal |first=Barry M. |last=Bloom |publisher=MLB.com |date=2006-10-25 |accessdate=2006-10-30] The victory was the 10th consecutive (excluding the 2002 tie) for the AL, and their 11-game unbeaten streak is only beaten by the NL's 11-game winning streak from 1972 to 1982 in All-Star history.

Background

As with each All-Star Game since 1970, the eight 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 Giants were awarded the game on February 9, 2005.cite web |url=http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050208&content_id=940943&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null |title=Giants to host 2007 All-Star Game |first=Barry M. |last=Bloom |publisher=MLB.com |date=2005-02-09 |accessdate=2007-06-06] The game marked the first time since 1953 that one league hosted consecutive All-Star Games, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, hosted the game in 2006.

The game was the fifth straight All-Star Game to decide home-field advantage in the World Series. The AL entered the game on a ten-game unbeaten streak (nine wins, with one tie in 2002). The NL was looking for their first win since the 1996 game in Philadelphia.

Fan balloting

tarters

Balloting for the 2007 All-Star Game starters (excluding pitchers) began on April 27 and continued through June 28. The top vote-getters at each position and the top three among outfielders, are named the starters for their respective leagues. The results were announced on July 1.cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070701&content_id=2059925&vkey=allstar2007&fext=.jsp |title=Best of veterans, youngsters at Classic |first=Barry M. |last=Bloom |publisher=MLB.com |date=2007-07-01 |accessdate=2007-07-01] About 18.5 million votes were cast by close to twelve million fans. Alex Rodriguez was the leading vote-getter with 3,890,515 votes, easily outpacing his Yankees teammate Derek Jeter by over 700,000 votes. Ken Griffey, Jr. was the top vote-getter in the National League, with 2,986,818 votes.

Final roster spot

After the rosters were announced, a second round of fan voting, the Monster All-Star Final Vote, was commenced to determine the occupant of the final roster spot for each team.cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070701&content_id=2060174&vkey=allstar2007&fext=.jsp |title=Monster All-Star Final Vote is under way |first=Mark |last=Newman |publisher=MLB.com |date=2007-07-01 |accessdate=2007-07-01] This round lasted until July 5. Chris Young and Hideki Okajima were elected to represent the National League and American League, respectively, in the All-Star Game as first time All-Stars. [cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070705&content_id=2069109&vkey=allstar2007&fext=.jsp|title=Young, Okajima win Final Vote|accessdate=2007-07-05|date=2007-07-05|author=Newman, Mark|publisher=MLB Advanced Media, L.P.] All ten players included in the balloting were pitchers, a first for the event.

Recorded only seven of ten outs before hitting winning home run.
Advanced after defeating Morneau 2-1 in a swing-off.

Futures Game

The 2007 XM All-Star Futures Game took place on July 8, showcasing the top minor league prospects from all thirty teams' farm systems. The contest is seven innings regardless of the score with pitchers limited to no more than one inning of work. The World team defeated the United States by a score of 7-2.cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070708&content_id=2076058&vkey=allstar2007&fext=.jsp |title=Futures spoils belong to the World |date=2007-07-08 |accessdate=2007-07-12 |author=Castrovince, Anthony |publisher=MLB.com] Chin-Lung Hu of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization won the Larry Doby MVP award after driving in two runs on a single and double, plus a stolen base and a run.

Linescore
Road=World|RoadAbr=Wor
R1=2|R2=0|R3=1|R4=1|R5=0|R6=1|R7=2|RR=7|RH=8|RE=0
Home=United States|HomeAbr=USA
H1=0|H2=0|H3=1|H4=0|H5=1|H6=0|H7=0|HR=2|HH=5|HE=1
RSP= |HSP=
WP=Rick VandenHurk (1-0) |LP=Jeff Niemann (0-1) |SV=
RoadHR=Joey Votto (1), James Van Ostrand (1) |HomeHR=Justin Upton (1), John Whittleman (1)|

Footnotes and references

External links

* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/events/all_star/y2007/index.jsp Official website of the All-Star Game]