2011 All-Star Game

The 2011 All-Star Game was played on July 12, 2011 in Phoenix, AZ, with the National League winning 5-1 over the American League and thus securing for itself home field advantage in the 2011 World Series. It was the 82nd All-Star Game between the the two major leagues. Former Arizona Diamondbacks star OF Luis Gonzalez was named Major League Baseball special ambassador for the game, helping in promotion activities.

For the first time, the players wore special All-Star Game uniforms, similar to their team jerseys, but with two gold stars added to the back of their caps and jerseys. Jose Bautista set a record by receiving 7.4 million votes from fans in the balloting, shattering the previous record of 6 million votes received by Ken Griffey, Jr. for the 1994 All-Star Game. There were a record 84 All-Stars named, the result of a rash of injuries and of the application of the "Sunday Starter rule", preventing any pitcher who started a game on the Sunday before the All-Star Game from taking part in the game.

The Teams[edit]

American League[edit]

Ron Washington of the Texas Rangers managed the American League team, with coaches Manny Acta of the Cleveland Indians and John Farrell of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Player	Team	Position	Selection	Notes
Alex Avila	Detroit Tigers	C	Starter
Jose Bautista	Toronto Blue Jays	OF	Starter	Leading Vote-Getter
Josh Beckett	Boston Red Sox	P	Player Ballot
Adrian Beltre	Texas Rangers	3B	Player Ballot
Asdrubal Cabrera	Cleveland Indians	SS	Player Ballot
Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	1B	Manager Selection
Robinson Cano	New York Yankees	2B	Starter
Aaron Crow	Kansas City Royals	P	Manager Selection	Did not play
Michael Cuddyer	Minnesota Twins	OF	Player Ballot
Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston Red Sox	OF	Player Ballot
Adrian Gonzalez	Boston Red Sox	1B	Starter
Gio Gonzalez	Oakland Athletics	P	Manager Selection
Curtis Granderson	New York Yankees	OF	Starter
Josh Hamilton	Texas Rangers	OF	Starter
Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	P	Player Ballot	Replaced under Sunday Starter rule
Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	SS	Starter	Replaced because of injury
Matt Joyce	Tampa Bay Rays	OF	Player Ballot
Howie Kendrick	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	2B	Player Ballot
Paul Konerko	Chicago White Sox	1B	Final Vote Winner
Brandon League	Seattle Mariners	P	Player Ballot
Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	P	Injury Replacement	Replaced Hernandez Replaced because of injury
Russell Martin	New York Yankees	C	Player Ballot	Did not play
Alexi Ogando	Texcas Rangers	P	Injury Replacement	Replaced Verlander
David Ortiz	Boston Red Sox	DH	Starter
Jhonny Peralta	Detroit Tigers	SS	Injury Replacement	Replaced Jeter
Chris Perez	Cleveland Indians	P	Player Ballot
Michael Pineda	Seattle Mariners	P	Injury Replacement	Replaced Sabathia
David Price	Tampa Bay Rays	P	Manager Selection	Replaced because of injury
Carlos Quentin	Chicago White Sox	OF	Player Ballot
Mariano Rivera	New York Yankees	P	Player Ballot	Replaced because of injury
David Robertson	New York Yankees	P	Injury Replacement	Replaced Price
Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	3B	Starter	Replaced because of injury
Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	P	Injury Replacement	Replaced Lester Did not play
CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	P	Injury Replacement	Replaced Shields Replaced under Sunday Starter rule
James Shields	Tampa Bay Rays	P	Player Ballot	Replaced under Sunday Starter rule
Jose Valverde	Detroit Tigers	P	Manager Selection	Did not play
Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	P	Player Ballot	Replaced under Sunday Starter rule
Jordan Walden	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	P	Injury Replacement	Replaced Rivera
Jered Weaver	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	P	Player Ballot	Starting Pitcher
Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	C	Manager Selection
C.J. Wilson	Texcas Rangers	P	Manager Selection
Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	3B	Injury Replacement	Replaced Rodriguez
Michael Young	Texas Rangers	DH	Player Ballot

National League[edit]

Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants managed the National League team, with coaches Kirk Gibson of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Mike Quade of the Chicago Cubs; Jim Riggleman of the Washington Nationals had originally been named to the coaching staff, but resigned in late June and was replaced by Quade.

Player	Team	Position	Selection	Notes
Heath Bell	San Diego Padres	P	Manager Selection
Carlos Beltran	New York Mets	OF	Manager Selection
Lance Berkman	St. Louis Cardinals	OF	Starter
Ryan Braun	Milwaukee Brewers	OF	Starter	Leading National League vote-getter Replaced because of injury
Jay Bruce	Cincinnati Reds	OF	Player Ballot
Matt Cain	San Francisco Giants	P	Manager Selection	Replaced under Sunday Starter rule
Starlin Castro	Chicago Cubs	SS	Manager Selection
Tyler Clippard	Washington Nationals	P	Manager Selection
Kevin Correia	Pittsburgh Pirates	P	Injury Replacement	Replaced Hamels Did not play
Andre Ethier	Los Angeles Dodgers	OF	Injury Replacement	Replaced Victorino
Prince Fielder	Milwaukee Brewers	1B	Starter
Roy Halladay	Philadelphia Phillies	P	Player Ballot	Starting Pitcher
Cole Hamels	Philadelphia Phillies	P	Player Ballot	Replaced under Sunday Starter rule
Joel Hanrahan	Pittsburgh Pirates	P	Player Ballot
Matt Holliday	St. Louis Cardinals	OF	Player Ballot
Chipper Jones	Atlanta Braves	3B	Player Ballot	Replaced because of injury
Jair Jurrjens	Atlanta Braves	P	Player Ballot
Matt Kemp	Los Angeles Dodgers	OF	Starter
Clayton Kershaw	Los Angeles Dodgers	P	Player Ballot
Craig Kimbrel	Atlanta Braves	P	Injury Replacement	Replaced Cain
Cliff Lee	Philadelphia Phillies	P	Player Ballot
Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	P	Manager Selection	Did not play
Brian McCann	Atlanta Braves	C	Starter
Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	OF	Injury Replacement	Replaced Braun
Yadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals	C	Player Ballot
Miguel Montero	Arizona Diamondbacks	C	Injury Replacement	Replaced Polanco
Hunter Pence	Houston Astros	OF	Player Ballot
Brandon Phillips	Cincinnati Reds	2B	Player Ballot
Placido Polanco	Philadelphia Phillies	3B	Starter	Replaced because of injury
Jose Reyes	New York Mets	SS	Starter	Replaced because of injury
Scott Rolen	Cincinnati Reds	3B	Injury Replacement	Replaced Jones
Gaby Sanchez	Florida Marlins	1B	Manager Selection
Pablo Sandoval	San Francisco Giants	3B	Injury Replacement	Replaced Reyes
Troy Tulowitzki	Colorado Rockies	SS	Player Ballot
Justin Upton	Arizona Diamondbacks	OF	Manager Selection
Jonny Venters	Atlanta Braves	P	Player Ballot
Shane Victorino	Philadelphia Phillies	OF	Final Vote Winner	Replaced because of injury
Ryan Vogelsong	San Francisco Giants	P	Manager Selection	Did not play
Joey Votto	Cincinnati Reds	1B	Player Ballot
Rickie Weeks	Milwaukee Brewers	2B	Starter
Brian Wilson	San Francisco Giants	P	Player Ballot

The Game[edit]

The National League won the 2011 All-Star game, 5-1, with a combination of excellent pitching and timely hitting. There was concern going into the game that the American League pitching staff was depleted because a number of its top pitchers were unavailable either because of the "Sunday Starter" rule or injuries; this concern would prove valid, as the National League scored all its runs against hurlers making their first All-Star appearance. The senior circuit did not have the same problem, and used its front-line pitching to keep the powerful AL line-up in check.

The National League pitchers started the game by retiring the AL batters in order in the first three innings. Starter Roy Halladay pitched two perfect inning, and his teammate with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cliff Lee, followed suit in the 3rd. Meanwhile, AL pitchers kept pace, even though starter Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim allowed a two-out single to Matt Kemp in the 1st inning. Josh Beckett was due to pitch the 2nd inning for the AL, but felt a twinge in his knee warming up and gave way to young David Robertson without making a pitch, further thinning his team's pitching staff. Robertson was helped by a tremendous sliding catch by Jose Bautista of a fly ball hit by Brian McCann into the foul area of Chase Field's right field corner. Lance Berkman followed with a single, but was caught stealing when Matt Holliday struck out and he left the second base bag after beating C Alex Avila's throw. Rookie Michael Pineda of the Seattle Mariners then pitched a perfect 3rd inning, picking up two strikeouts, before the scoring started in the 4th.

Cliff Lee retired the first two batters he faced in the 4th, running the string of consecutive outs to start the game to 11, but then gave up a solo home run to Boston's Adrian Gonzalez. Bautista followed with a flare between first base and right field; running all out with his back to the plate, 1B Prince Fielder managed to put a glove on the ball, but it fell in for a single. Josh Hamilton then lined a single into center, and NL manager Bruce Bochy removed Lee, bringing in Washington Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard. Adrian Beltre singled to left, but, in one of the key plays of the game, Bautista was out at home trying to score from second base on a perfect throw from Hunter Pence to McCann. C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers came in to pitch the 4th but immediately got himself in trouble by allowing back-to-back singles by DH Carlos Beltran and Kemp. Fielder followed and ripped a pitch to the deepest part of center field. It bounced on top of the wall, hit the back of a camera bay beyond the outfield fence and fell back on the field for a game-turning three-run homer.

Now with a 3-1 lead, the National League proceeded to use its pitching superiority to its advantage. Clayton Kershaw pitched a perfect 5th inning, then a trio of Atlanta Braves secured the next three frames. Jair Jurrjens got five outs, and after a single by Kevin Youkilis with two outs in the 7th, Craig Kimbrel replaced him and got the last out. Jonny Venters then got the first two outs in the 8th, after which Bochy summoned San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell from the bullpen. To the crowd's delight, Bell came running in at full tilt from the outfield and slid on his way to the mound for a spectacular entrance; he then induced Jhonny Peralta to pop-up to end the inning. Meanwhile, the National League had victimized a couple of less-experienced AL pitchers for two more runs. In the 5th, Troy Tulowitzki led off the inning with a single off Jordan Walden and was replaced by pinch-runner Starlin Castro. Castro proceeded to steal second and third base while Walden struck out Scott Rolen; Rickie Weeks followed with a bouncer back towards the mound. Walden made a tremendous play, fielding the ball on the bounce with his bare hand and firing a strike to C Avila to retire Castro. Weeks then stole second base and scored on pinch-hitter Andre Ethier's single; Bautista's throw from right field was cut off by 1B Miguel Cabrera who caught Ethier in a no man's land between first and second, ending the inning. Chris Perez threw a scoreless 6th, but the National League added a fifth and final run in the 7th off Brandon League. Pence led off the inning with a single and, after Castro struck out swinging, catcher Matt Wieters missed one of League's heavily-moving cut fastballs, allowing Pence to reach third base on the passed ball. Pablo Sandoval followed with a double that bounced into the left-field bullpen for a 5-1 lead.

After the National League failed to score in the 8th, the American League's final chance came against Joel Hanrahan in the top of the 9th. Michael Young struck out swinging to start the inning, but Carlos Quentin reached second on a throwing error by SS Castro. Matt Joyce then singled, moving Quentin to third, and moved up to third base when RF Jay Bruce's throw to prevent Quentin from scoring was off the mark. With the tying run in the on-deck circle and two runners now in scoring position, Bochy replaced Hanrahan with his own closer, the heavily-bearded Brian Wilson. True to his reputation as one of the game's top relief pitchers, Wilson induced Michael Cuddyer to hit a short fly to right for the second out, then Paul Konerko hit another ground ball to Castro. This time the young Cubs shortstop fielded it cleanly and threw to Joey Votto at first base to end the game.

Prince Fielder was named the game's MVP as his three-run homer off C.J. Wilson in the 4th inning was the deciding blow in the contest. Tyler Clippard was the winner, in spite of allowing a hit to the only batter he faced; C.J. Wilson was charged with the loss, and Brian Wilson picked up the save.

Starting Lineups[edit]

American League			Batting Order	National League
Player	Position	Team	Batting Order	Player	Position	Team
Curtis Granderson	CF	New York Yankees	1	Rickie Weeks	2B	Milwaukee Brewers
Asdrubal Cabrera	SS	Cleveland Indians	2	Carlos Beltran	DH	New York Mets
Adrian Gonzalez	1B	Boston Red Sox	3	Matt Kemp	CF	Los Angeles Dodgers
Jose Bautista	RF	Toronto Blue Jays	4	Prince Fielder	1B	Milwaukee Brewers
Josh Hamilton	LF	Texas Rangers	5	Brian McCann	C	Atlanta Braves
Adrian Beltre	3B	Texas Rangers	6	Lance Berkman	RF	St. Louis Cardinals
David Ortiz	DH	Boston Red Sox	7	Matt Holliday	LF	St. Louis Cardinals
Robinson Cano	2B	New York Yankees	8	Troy Tulowitzki	SS	Colorado Rockies
Alex Avila	C	Detroit Tigers	9	Scott Rolen	3B	Cincinnati Reds
Jered Weaver	P	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	SP	Roy Halladay	P	Philadelphia Phillies