1996 AAA All-Star Game

The 1996 AAA All-Star Game was held on July 10, 1996 in Salt Lake City, UT. The ninth annual AAA All-Star Game was held at Franklin Quest Field, home of the Salt Lake Buzz, the AAA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

The AL would serve as the home team and be managed by Salt Lake Buzz manager Phil Roof. He would be assisted by Stump Merrill of the Columbus Clippers and Brian Graham of the Buffalo Bisons. The NL team would be led by Pete Mackanin of the Ottawa Lynx. Colorado Springs Sky Sox manager Brad Mills and Louisville Redbirds coach Dyar Miller would be the assistants. The game was broadcast on ESPN, with Matt Vasgersian and George Frazier calling the game.

After an early pitchers duel left the game scoreless after three innings, hometown favorite Todd Walker put the AL on the board with a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. The pitching would continue to dominate as Walker's home run held up until the 8th inning. In the 8th Neifi Perez lead off against Jeff Schmidt with a double. Brook Fordyce followed that with a two run home run to put the NL up 2-1. Derek Wallace and Steve Mintz shut down the AL in the 8th and 9th to pick up the win and save. Schmidt would take the loss.

The Stars of Stars Awards were given to one player from each league. The International League award went to Huck Flener of the Syracuse Chiefs who pitched 3 innings of one hit ball and didn't allow a run. Todd Walker of the Buzz won the award for the Pacific Coast League for his solo home run. The American Association award went to Brook Fordyce of the Indianapolis Indians for his two run homer.

The game lacked many future big league stars but featured a number of future solid players like Walker, Perez, Brian Giles and Dustin Hermanson.

Starting Lineups

National League				Batting Order		American League
Player	Position	Team				Player	Position	Team
Jermaine Allensworth	CF	Calgary Cannons		1		Jeff Abbott	LF	Nashville Sounds
Chris Martin	SS	Ottawa Lynx		2		Brian Raabe	SS	Tacoma Rainiers
Billy McMillon	RF	Charlotte Knights		3		Todd Walker	2B	Salt Lake Buzz
Jason Thompson	1B	Las Vegas Stars		4		Phil Hiatt	3B	Toledo Mud Hens
Dmitri Young	DH	Louisville Redbirds		5		Greg Pirkl	1B	Tacoma Rainiers
Ray Montgomery	LF	Tucson Toros		6		Brian Giles	RF	Buffalo Bisons
Neifi Perez	2B	Colorado Springs Sky Sox		7		Jim Bonnici	DH	Tacoma Rainiers
Angelo Encarnacion	C	Calgary Cannons		8		Rudy Pemberton	CF	Pawtucket Red Sox
Wilton Guerrero	3B	Albuquerque Dukes		9		Kelly Stinnett	C	New Orleans Zephyrs
Mike Fyhrie	P	Norfolk Tides		SP		Scott Ruffcorn	P	Nashville Sounds

Box Score

Sources

AAA Baseball