With two swings and a catch that would have impressed Michael Jordan, Barry Bonds and Torii Hunter made the 73rd All-Star Game memorable. But in terms of symbolism, it was enough simply that it was played.
There was no strike or lockout after six innings. Joe Torre did not declare a ninth-inning impasse and implement new rules.
If only the 2002 season turns out as well as Tuesday’s midseason tribute to both baseball’s past and present.
The evening began with a celebration of baseball’s top 30 moments, including appearances by Henry Aaron, Willie Mays and scoreboard highlights of the late Ted Williams, Jack Buck and Darryl Kile. The game extended into extra innings.
Bonds showed fans that he has not lost the muscle that carried him to a record 73-homer season in 2001. He delivered one ringing homer and would have had another if not for the athleticism of Minnesota’s Hunter.
Paul Konerko, the White Sox first baseman who has been critical of Frank Thomas’ selfishness in recent days, also made his presence known. He doubled twice in his first All-Star appearance, including a two-out shot off Arizona’s Byung-Hyun Kim that briefly gave the AL a 6-5 lead in the seventh inning.
The NL immediately answered against Seattle closer Kazuhiro Sasaki. Lance Berkman’s two-out, two-run single put the home team ahead again but this time San Francisco’s Robb Nen could not hold the lead. Omar Vizquel’s one-out triple in the eighth tied the score 7-7.
After being robbed in the first inning, Bonds left no doubt in the third inning. He lined a 3-0 pitch from Toronto’s Roy Halladay off the facing of the second deck in right field for a two-run homer. It extended the NL’s lead from 2-0 to 4-0.
The home run that almost was will be played more than the one that left the park. Hunter’s catch in the first inning epitomized the defensive play that has helped the Twins build a 7 1/2-game lead in the AL Central.
“It was amazing,” Lowe said. “That’s what people come here to see, and it was just a great play. Hope he doesn’t do it against us.”
Bonds had lifted a 1-1 pitch from Boston’s Derek Lowe about a mile into the sky. As the ball sailed toward the empty spaces beyond the center-field fence, Hunter gained ground.
He timed his leap perfectly, soaring at least three feet above the eight-foot wall to rob Bonds of what would have been his second All-Star homer. As the crowd of 41,871 buzzed, Hunter headed off the field with the ball and a broad smile.
Bonds intercepted him behind second base. He playfully picked up Hunter and slung him over his shoulder.
“Unbelievable,” said the Cubs’ Sammy Sosa, who was 1-for-2. “I really, for a moment, thought he was Michael Jordan. . . . That kid impresses everybody like a Superman right there, comes out of nowhere and jumps like that and got the ball.”
Curt Schilling, the NL starter, said there was silence on the bench after the play.
“I think everybody was speechless,” he said. “It’s always awesome in an All-Star Game to see an All-Star do what got him there. Those are the moments that people will never forget when they are here and watching the game.”
Sosa played a role in the NL taking a 1-0 lead in the second. He lined the first pitch from Lowe up the middle and almost off Lowe for a single. It was Sosa’s first hit in 10 at-bats as an All-Star.
“That was a great feeling, I guess,” Sosa said. “I would have asked for the ball but I forgot.”
When Vladimir Guerrero followed with a single to left, Sosa tried to take a base on left fielder Manny Ramirez. He was thrown out diving headfirst into third.
White Sox lefty Mark Buehrle was one of only three pitchers to work a two-inning stint. He was perfect in the fourth inning, striking out Guerrero and then retiring Piazza and Scott Rolen. But he gave up a run in the fifth.
Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins led off with his second single. Arizona catcher Damian Miller followed with a drive that just beat Johnny Damon to the wall in left-center. It caromed off the blue fence for a double, scoring the speedy Rollins.
Buehrle kept the NL lead at 5-2 by retiring the next three hitters. He struck out Junior Spivey and got Lance Berkman and Richie Sexson to ground out.
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The outcome of the All-Star Game was unavailable until later editions because of extra innings.
