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| Date | July 17,1979 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Kingdome | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Seattle,Washington | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Dave Parker (PIT) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 58,905 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ceremonial first pitch | Danny Kaye | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | NBC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Joe Garagiola,Tony Kubek, andTom Seaver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | CBS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Vin Scully,Brent Musburger, andJerry Coleman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 50th playing of the midsummer classic between theall-stars of theAmerican League (AL) andNational League (NL), the two leagues constitutingMajor League Baseball.
It was held on Tuesday, July 17, at theKingdome inSeattle, Washington, the home of the third-yearSeattle Mariners of the American League. The National League won 7–6 for their eighth consecutive win.[1][2][3]
The game featured memorable defensive play by starting right fielderDave Parker, as he had two assists on putouts: one at third base in the seventh inning and another at home plate to end the eighth. With Parker receiving the MVP award for this game,[4][5] and teammateWillie Stargell winning theNational League MVP,NLCS MVP, andWorld Series MVP, all four possible MVP awards for the season were won by members of thePittsburgh Pirates. The game was also notable for the play ofLee Mazzilli, providing the margin of victory. In his only All-Star appearance, Mazzilli tied the game in the eighth inning with apinch hithome run off ofJim Kern of theTexas Rangers, and then put the National League ahead for good in the ninth, drawing a bases-loaded walk againstRon Guidry of theNew York Yankees.
This was the onlyAll-Star Game at the Kingdome. When it returned to Seattle in2001, the Mariners had moved across the street to their new home atSafeco Field.
It was the second All-Star Game held indoors, the first waseleven years earlier at theAstrodome inHouston. The weather outdoors was unseasonably hot in Seattle, with a high temperature of 96 °F (36 °C).[6]
Players initalics have since been inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.
| Home plate | George Maloney (AL) |
| First base | Lee Weyer (NL) |
| Second base | Nick Bremigan (AL) |
| Third base | Bill Williams (NL) |
| Left Field | Terry Cooney (AL) |
| Right Field | Dutch Rennert (NL) |
| National League | American League | ||||||
| Order | Player | Team | Position | Order | Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davey Lopes | Dodgers | 2B | 1 | Roy Smalley | Twins | SS |
| 2 | Dave Parker | Pirates | RF | 2 | George Brett | Royals | 3B |
| 3 | Steve Garvey | Dodgers | 1B | 3 | Don Baylor | Angels | LF |
| 4 | Mike Schmidt | Phillies | 3B | 4 | Jim Rice | Red Sox | RF |
| 5 | George Foster | Reds | LF | 5 | Fred Lynn | Red Sox | CF |
| 6 | Dave Winfield | Padres | CF | 6 | Carl Yastrzemski | Red Sox | 1B |
| 7 | Bob Boone | Phillies | C | 7 | Darrell Porter | Royals | C |
| 8 | Larry Bowa | Phillies | SS | 8 | Frank White | Royals | 2B |
| 9 | Steve Carlton | Phillies | P | 9 | Nolan Ryan | Angels | P |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National League | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| American League | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Bruce Sutter (1-0) LP:Jim Kern (0-1) Home runs: NL:Lee Mazzilli (1) AL:Fred Lynn (1) Attendance: 58,905 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
American League starterNolan Ryan began the game in sizzling fashion, striking outDavey Lopes andDave Parker, but walkedSteve Garvey.Mike Schmidt tripled in Garvey, andGeorge Foster followed with a double down the right field line to score Schmidt for a 2–0 National League lead.
The American Leaguers came right back in the bottom of the first.George Brett walked with one out,Don Baylor doubled him in, andFred Lynn put the AL up 3–2 with a two-out, two-run homer offSteve Carlton.
The NL regained the lead on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Parker in the second and an RBI groundout byDave Winfield in the third. The AL went back up 5–4 in the bottom of the third whenCarl Yastrzemski batted in a run with a single andChet Lemon scored on a Schmidt error.
The score remained that way until the top of the sixth, when the NL tied it at five on a Winfield double offMark Clear and an RBI single byGary Carter.Pete Rose pinch-hit in and bounced into a double play, then entered the game, replacing Garvey at first and becoming the first player to appear in the All-Star Game at five different positions.
The AL went back up 6–5 in the bottom of the sixth.Gaylord Perry gave up a leadoff single to Yastrzemski, a double toDarrell Porter, and an RBI single to MarinerBruce Bochte before leaving in favor ofJoe Sambito without retiring a batter. Sambito pitched the NL out of trouble by gettingReggie Jackson to ground to Lopes at second, who gunned down Porter at the plate. After an intentional walk toRoy Smalley to load the bases, Sambito retired Brett and was relieved byMike LaCoss. LaCoss then induced Baylor to hit into a force play end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh,Jim Rice led off and blooped a double to right with a high bounce off the artificial turf, but was thrown out by Parker as he tried to stretch it into a triple. Batting forGary Matthews,Lee Mazzilli tied the score at six in the top of the eighth with an opposite-field homer offJim Kern, the first pinch-hit home run in MLB All-Star game history.
The AL mounted one last threat in the bottom of the eighth whenBrian Downing led off with a crisp single offBruce Sutter and was sacrificed to second by Bochte. Sutter walked Jackson intentionally and then struck outBobby Grich for the second out.Graig Nettles then lined a single to right, and Downing attempted to score, but once again the arm of Parker claimed another victim. Fielding the line drive on the first bounce, he fired a perfect strike on the fly to Carter, who blocked Downing's right hand from reaching the plate. Along with his otherassist an inning earlier, this play earned Parker the game's MVP award.
The NL took the lead in the top of the ninth without recording a base hit.Joe Morgan walked with one out and was balked to second. Kern walked Parker intentionally, retiredCraig Reynolds on a foul pop, but then walkedRon Cey to load the bases.Ron Guidry came in and walked Mazzilli, forcing in Morgan with the winning run. In the bottom of the inning, Sutter retired the side, with strikeouts of Rice andRick Burleson to end the game and earn the win.