Ties are for hockey, not baseball...

The above quote was murmured by baseball fans after the commisioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig, decided to end the 73rd Annual MLB All-Star Game in a tie at 7-7. This was the conclusion he reached with both team managers as both sides had run out of players to continue to play the game.

Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was chosen as the host site of the 73rd Annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The fan-favorite Home Run Derby was also held at the same site one day before the highly-anticipated summer classic. That was won by New York Yankee Jason Giambi. The RadioShack All-Star Futures Game was held a day prior to the Home Run Derby and the World defeated the U.S.A. 5 to 1 in a game competed in by Minor League players.


The Home Run Derby is a home run hitting contest, and it is annually held the day before the All-Star Game. The top four home-run leaders in each league participate in this event. In the 2002 Home Run Derby, the following players competed for their respective league.

The two leaders from each league advanced to the next round. From the AL, Jason Giambi hit 11 home runs in the first round, and Paul Konerko hit 6 to advance. Torii Hunter hit only 3 and league leader Alex Rodriguez hit a disappointing 2. From the NL, Sammy Sosa hit a monstorous 12 home runs. Hometown favorite Richie Sexson hit 6 to also advance. Favorite Barry Bonds only hit 2 home runs and Houston's Lance Berkman only hit a solo home run.

In the second round, Jason Giambi faced off against the White Sox's Paul Konerko. Both were running on six home runs when they reached their 10th out. So a swingoff was performed (similar to a shootout in soccer/football). Giambi won it, hitting his 7th home run in the round. In the National League semis, Sammy Sosa edged Richie Sexson, hitting 5 home runs to Sexson's 4. Both Giambi and Sosa would face each other in the finals.

In the final round, Giambi was still impressive, hitting 7 for the round. Sosa, using all his power in the opening two rounds, hit only a single home run in the final round, allowing Jason Giambi to capture the 2002 Home Run Derby Championship.


The rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in advance. Below is the entire AL and NL rosters (bold names represent starters).


AL

NL The game was set to be underway on the night of July 9, 2002 at Miller Park, and that it did. The starting pitchers were Curt Schilling, of the Arizona Diamondbacks, for the National League and Derek Lowe, of the Boston Red Sox, for the American League. The American League started the game on offense as they played in a National League ball park, and because of that, they also played using NL rules (mostly significant No designated hitterrule).

The NL got on the scoreboard first with an RBI by NL catcher Mike Piazza in the second inning off Derek Lowe. The third inning added more runs on the NL side, with an RBI single by first baseman Todd Helton, and then a home run by Barry Bonds that scored two runs.The AL finally scored in the fourth-inning off Odalis Perez by a Manny Ramirez RBI. The AL scored again in the fifth courtesy a Alfonso Soriano homer. The National League came back in the bottom of the fifth by back-up catcher Damian Miller's RBI. After six innings, the NL led 5-2.

In the seventh-inning, the AL was making a run. They scored four runs in the inning. Garrett Anderson scored the first run with a groundout. Tony Batista scored the next run, tying the game at five. Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox, hit a two-run double in the inning to give the AL the lead 6-5. But the NL would not go down without a fight. In the bottom of the inning, NL home run leader, Lance Berkman hit a single to drive in two runs. The final run of the game came in the eight-inning off an Omar Vizquel triple, which tied the game at 7. The game continued to the 9th innning where no runs were scored.

The tenth-inning came and gone with no runs being produced. After the top of the 11th, where the AL did not score, the umpires, NL coach Bob Brenly, AL coach Joe Torre, and MLB Commisioner Bud Selig had a conference IN THE STANDS contemplating what should be done with the game because both sides had run out of pitchers to continue the game. After 10 minutes had passed, the stadium announcer announced to the 41,871 fans that if the NL did not score in the bottom of the 11th, the game would end in a 7-7 tie. And to the fans worst nightmare, the NL did not score. The game ended after 3 hours and 29 minutes in a tie.

This was the second time an All-Star game had ended in a tie. The first time was in 1961 when the game was called final due to rain.

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