Four Red Sox championships ago, before Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and even launch angle and exit velocity, Major League Baseball's oldest ballpark was the center of the hardball universe for a few unforgettable days.
Happy 20th birthday, 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway!
On July 13, 1999, the Midsummer Classic returned to Boston for the first time since 1961 and the then-81-year-old yard hosted quite a show.
It featured one of Ted Williams' final public appearances. The greatest hitter of all-time was the final member of the All-Century Team introduced before the game. He held court in a golf cart near the pitcher's mound of his old home field as the All-Stars gathered around him in a moment that anything in the game (won by the American League, 4-1, by the way) couldn't match.
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The actual game's most unforgettable moment came soon after Williams' exit. Taking center stage in his home park, future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez struck out five of the first six hitters to earn All-Star Game MVP honors. In order, Martinez fanned Barry Larkin, Larry Walker (looking) and Sammy Sosa in the first. Mark McGwire went down swinging to start the second, Matt Williams reached on a rare Roberto Alomar error at second base, but was erased when Jeff Bagwell's whiff started a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play (Pudge Rodriguez cutting down Williams).
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }The night before, the festivities began with a Home Run Derby at the height of the Steroid Era. It was won by Ken Griffey Jr., but was remembered for McGwire attempting to reach the Mass Pike with shots over the Landsdowne Street mosh pit.
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }How did we ever comment on it all without social media? You could look it up, as Casey Stengel would say...just not using dial up on AltaVista or AskJeeves.
The Red Sox are seeking to bring back the All-Star Game to Fenway, but it'd have to go a long way to match '99.
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