Basketball Betting

Hunter goes 0 for 2 as All-Star host

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07/13/2010 -

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Angels center fielder Torii Hunter caught the ceremonial first pitch from former Angels great Rod Carew before the 81st All-Star game on Tuesday night and autographed the ball for the 15-time All-Star.

That turned out to be the personal highlight of the game for Hunter, who was 0 for 2 and struck out with the potential tying runs at the corners against Adam Wainwright.

It was the fourth All-Star appearance for Hunter, who came in as a defensive replacement in the fourth inning and finished the game. He flied out to right field against Heath Bell his first time up, and is hitless in six career at-bats in the midsummer classic.

That left Boston's Pedro Martinez and Cleveland's Sandy Alomar Jr. as the only players to win MVP honors in their home stadium. Martinez earned the award by striking out five of the first six NL batters in as 4-1 win at Fenway Park in 1999. Two years earlier, Cleveland's Sandy Alomar Jr. took home the hardware after his tiebreaking two-run homer against Shawn Estes in the eighth inning of a 3-1 win at Jacobs Field.

In 1939 at Yankee Stadium, Joe DiMaggio powered the AL to a 3-1 win with his only home run in 11 career All-Star games. Hank Aaron homered at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium against Gaylord Perry in 1972, helping the NL win 4-3. Ted Williams hit two home runs at Fenway and had five RBIs to lead the AL to a 12-0 rout in 1946 - the second one on Rip Sewell's famed ``Eephus pitch.''

Frank Howard of the Washington Senators, in his only at-bat of the 1969 game, thrilled the crowd at RFK Stadium with a drive against Steve Carlton before the AL lost 9-3. Minnesota's Harmon Killebrew also homered in a losing cause in 1965 at Metropolitan Stadium, as did Jim Gilliam of the Dodgers in 1959 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

In 1951, the AL wasted home runs by Detroit teammates Vic Wertz and George Kell in an 8-3 defeat at Tiger Stadium. The only other time two players from the hosting team went deep was in 1954, when Al Rosen hit two and Larry Doby got another in an 11-9 win for the AL at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. Rosen, Doby and Indians teammate Bobby Avila combined for eight RBIs that day.

Hometown hero Pete Rose scored probably the most memorable run in All-Star history in 1970 at Cincinnati's brand new Riverfront Stadium, when he injured catcher Ray Fosse in a violent collision while scoring on Jim Hickman's 12th-inning single.

Several pitchers have excelled in familiar surroundings during the midsummer classic. The best example was Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants,who in 1934 struck out Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin - in succession - and left the game with a 4-0 lead before the AL rallied to win 9-7 at the Polo Grounds.

In 1958, Billy O'Dell of the Orioles preserved a 4-3 win at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium by retiring the final nine NL batters. Three years earlier, Milwaukee's Gene Conley fanned Al Kaline, Mickey Vernon and Rosen in succession during the 12th inning and was rewarded in the bottom half when Stan Musial homered for a 6-5 NL victory.

The most embarrassing moment by a player in front of his home crowd occurred in 1961 at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, when Giants pitcher Stu Miller lost his balance on the mound because of a sudden gust of wind and balked the eventual tying run to third. But Miller emerged as the winning pitcher in a 5-4 victory despite the only balk of his 16-year career.

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BAT MAN: Jack Marucci had a special reason for watching the game - nearly a dozen All-Stars, including Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard and Paul Konerko, were using his bats.

Marucci is the head athletic trainer at LSU and about 10 years ago, his son wanted to swing a wood bat in T-ball, rather than an aluminum model that most kids wield. So he went to his shed and began working.

Chase Utley, Jose Reyes and Mark Teixeira are among the 60-plus who handle the hand-crafted bats. Marucci was the star attraction at an All-Star event Monday, but then had to leave and return to Baton Rouge, La.

``Football season is coming,'' he said. Marucci called all of the attention ``humbling.''

Marucci said he planned to tune in the All-Star game. In particular, he wanted to study how his big league sticks did.

``I feel like I'm watching my son bat,'' he said.

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DERBY FUN: First-time All-Star Nick Swisher is ready to take part in another Home Run Derby. The Yankees right fielder didn't fare so well in his first, but enjoyed himself nonetheless. He didn't advance out of the first round.

``I had an absolute blast,'' Swisher said. ``I'll do that again, no doubt. It's just different when you're talking about the shadows and cameras. What you can have in that is experience, so I think the next time will be way better.''

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EXTRA BASES: This is only the second time in history that no home runs were hit in consecutive All-Star games. The other occurrence was 1957-58, when the venues were St. Louis and Baltimore, respectively. ... The NL has a 41-38-2 record in the All-Star game despite going 12-0-1 in the previous 14. This was the first win for the senior curcuit since 1996. ... Derek Jeter heard a familiar voice when he batted in the first inning. A recording of the late Bob Sheppard introducing Jeter played over the sound system. Sheppard was the longtime Yankees public address announcer who died Sunday at 99. Jeter still uses Sheppard's intro at home games. ... Five-time All-Star Brian McCann, who drive in all three NL runs with a seventh-inning double, became the second Braves player to be named the game's MVP. The other was Fred McGriff, whose pinch-hit two-run homer in 1994 against Lee Smith in the bottom of the ninth at Pittsburgh tied the score and set the stage for the NL's 8-7 win in 10. ... Texas Rangers DH Vladimir Guerrero, who helped lead the Angels to five AL West titles in a six-year span and was named league MVP in 2004, received one of the loudest ovations during pregame introductions and tipped his cap to the crowd of 45,408. He was 0 for 2 in his ninth All-Star game. ... No one played the entire game. Hanley Ramirez and Martin Prado, the first two batters in the NL lineup, each had a game-high three at-bats. Reds reliever Arthur Rhodes, a first-time All-Star at age 40, didn't get into the game. NL manager Charlie Manuel used nine pitchers and AL counterpart Joe Girardi used 10, including Yankees Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes. ... LF Ryan Braun, the only Brewers outfielder ever to start in an All-Star game, turned in the game's defensive gem when he robbed Josh Hamilton of extra bases with a diving grab going toward the left field line. ... Each of the previous four games were decided by one run.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.