2005 AAA All-Star Game

The 2005 AAA All-Star Game was played on July 13, 2005 in Sacramento, CA. The event was hosted by the Sacramento River Cats, the AAA affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.

The Pacific Coast League served as the home team. The PCL All-Stars were managed by Tony DeFrancesco of the hosting Sacramento River Cats. His assistants were Bobby Jones of the Oklahoma Redhawks and Mike Parrott also of the Tucson Sidewinders. The International League team was managed by Marty Brown of the Buffalo Bisons. Pat Kelly of the Richmond Braves and Phil Roof of the Rochester Red Wings served as his coaches. The game was broadcast on ESPN2 with Dave Barnett, Buck Martinez, Steve Phillips and Gary Miller calling the game.

The IL struck first in the game scoring a run in the top of the first off of a John-Ford Griffin sac fly. The lead for the IL was short lived though as the PCL struck back for five in the bottom of the first, highlighted by the first Grand Slam in AAA All-Star Game history off the bat of Gerald Laird. The IL got a run back in the second with an Edwin Encarnacion home run, but the PCL kept the feet on the gas and scored two more to make it a 7-2 game after two. The PCL scored four more in the sixth, including a two run home run by Matt Watson to take a 11-2 lead. The IL was able to chip away and get the score to 11-5 but that was as close they would come. Chris Gissell of the Memphis Redbirds got the win while the loss was given to Jason Scobie of the Norfolk Tides.

The Top Stars Awards were given to the game MVP from each team. The International League award went to Edwin Encarnacion of the Louisville Bats who went 1-2 with a home run. Gerald Laird of the Oklahoma Redhawks won the award for the PCL going 2-3 with a grand slam. Laird also won the Bank of America Most Valuable Player award as the overall MVP.

The game featured a number of future big leaguers including Laird, Encarnacion, B.J. Upton, Nate McLouth and Ian Kinsler.

Starting Lineups

International League				Batting Order		Pacific Coast League
Player	Position	Team				Player	Position	Team
B.J. Upton	SS	Durham Bulls		1		Esteban German	SS	Oklahoma Redhawks
Jake Gautreau	2B	Buffalo Bisons		2		Andy Green	2B	Tucson Sidewinders
Mitch Jones	1B	Columbus Clippers		3		Conor Jackson	1B	Tucson Sidewinders
John-Ford Griffin	LF	Syracuse SkyChiefs		4		Mike Coolbaugh	3B	Round Rock Express
Ernie Young	DH	Buffalo Bisons		5		Matt Watson	RF	Sacramento River Cats
Ryan Garko	C	Buffalo Bisons		6		Gerald Laird	C	Oklahoma Redhawks
Edwin Encarnacion	3B	Louisville Bats		7		Rick Short	DH	New Orleans Zephyrs
Mike Vento	RF	Columbus Clippers		8		Raul Gonzalez	LF	Memphis Redbirds
Chip Ambres	CF	Pawtucket Red Sox		9		Tyrell Godwin	CF	New Orleans Zephyrs
Jason Scobie	P	Norfolk Tides		SP		Chris Gissell	P	Memphis Redbirds

Box Score

Sources

AAA Baseball