The Most Disappointing MLB All-Star Game In History Happened 20 Years Ago
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Twenty years ago, Major League Baseball fans were gearing up for that year's All-Star game in Wisconsin with no idea it would turn out to be not just anti-climactic, but 'profoundly' disappointing.
The July 2002 game marked the 73rd annual All-Star game featuring players from the American League and National League, the two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB).
Thousands of fans - 41,871, to be precise - flooded to Miller Park in Milwaukee, ready to watch the highly-anticipated game unfold with players such as Johnny Damon, Jim Thome, Eric Chavez, Andruw Jones, Brian Giles and Larry Walker.
DAY 15 🔒#Twins outfielder Torii Hunter robs Barry Bonds of a home run in the 2002 All-Star Game.
— John Sparaco™ (@JohnSparaco) December 16, 2021
The game controversially ended with a 7–7 tie due to both teams running out of available pitchers. #MLB
pic.twitter.com/wJW1AdAaPf https://t.co/KCFcrdsnhG
Things started out relatively well, with the game showing off good pitching and impressive defense as well as a catch which went down in history, when centre fielder Torii Hunter managed to secure the ball after Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants took to the home plate.
Unfortunately the tension of the game wasn't built to last, mainly thanks to managers Joe Torre of the American League and Bob Brenly of the National League. The pair had decided to give all of their players a chance on the field, but as a result ended up using all their pitchers after 11 innings.
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With no one left to go to the mound, Commissioner Bud Selig was left with no choice than to declare the game a 7-7 tie. Unsurprisingly, the crowd was not impressed with the events that led to what was only the second tie in the history of the series, a feeling made clear as their boos rang out across the stadium. The first time a tie took place was in 1961, when the game was stopped by rain.
On this date in 2002, the MLB All-Star Game ended in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings as both the AL & NL squads had used up all their available pitchers.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 9, 2020
It was the 2nd time that an MLB All-Star Game ended in a tie. The other instance was in 1961 due to rain. pic.twitter.com/alI8kvJKLa
The result meant there was no Most Valuable Player declared for the event, and prompted the game to become one of the most disappointing in history.
In the 2016 book The Games That Changed Baseball: Milestones in Major League History, authors Andy Saunders and John G. Robertson explain: "Instead of a fitting climax... baseball fans around the world saw a strange, inconclusive, unsatisfactory and tepid conclusion.
"The disappointment of fans and sponsors was so profound that MLB strongly reacted - some would say overreacted - and decided to up the ante and give the annual exhibition game considerably higher stakes in 2003."
Following the disastrous ending to the game, Selig declared that whichever league won the All-Star Game would get the home-field advantage in future World Series.
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