2016 All-Star Game

The 2016 All-Star Game, the 87th edition of the Mid-summer classic, took place at Petco Park in San Diego, CA, on Tuesday July 12, 2016. The American League defeated the National League, 4-2, with Eric Hosmer winning the Ted Williams Award as the game's MVP. It was the AL's fourth straight victory and ensured that the league's representative would have home field advantage in the 2016 World Series.

The game was held in a National League park for the second straight year, following the 2015 All-Star Game being played at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH, only the second time this had happened, after 2006-2007. Moreover, with the 2017 game awarded to Miami, FL and the 2018 Midsummer Classic headed to Washington, DC, there were four straight games scheduled for National League parks. As a result, Commissioner Rob Manfred decided that the American League would be the home team and bat last in this game, even though it was not played in one of its ballparks.

The game was played in the shadow of the late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, affectionately known as "Mr. Padre", whose untimely death because of cancer two years earlier was remembered by all. Commissioner Rob Manfred took advantage of the pre-game ceremonies to announce that henceforth, the National League batting title would be known as the "Tony Gwynn Award", while its counterpart in the American League would be called the "Rod Carew Award".

For the second straight year, the game's broadcast on FOX attracted a record-low rating of 5.4, representing 8.7 million viewers. This had to be taken in perspective however: it was still the most-watched of the all-star games in the four major sports in the United States, and it represented Fox's highest-rated telecast of the summer season thus far.

The Teams

American League

Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals managed the American League team.

Player	Team	Position	Selection	Notes
Jose Altuve	Houston Astros	2B	Starter
Carlos Beltran	New York Yankees	OF
Dellin Betances	New York Yankees	P
Mookie Betts	Boston Red Sox	OF	Starter
Xander Bogaerts	Boston Red Sox	SS	Starter
Brad Brach	Baltimore Orioles	P		Did not play
Jackie Bradley	Boston Red Sox	OF	Starter
Zach Britton	Baltimore Orioles	P
Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	1B
Robinson Cano	Seattle Mariners	2B
Alex Colome	Tampa Bay Rays	P		Did not play
Wade Davis	Kansas City Royals	P		Replaced because of injury
Ian Desmond	Texas Rangers	OF
Josh Donaldson	Toronto Blue Jays	3B
Edwin Encarnacion	Toronto Blue Jays	DH
Marco Estrada	Toronto Blue Jays	P		Replaced because of injury
Cole Hamels	Texas Rangers	P
Will Harris	Houston Astros	P
Kelvin Herrera	Kansas City Royals	P
Eric Hosmer	Kansas City Royals	1B	Starter
Craig Kimbrel	Boston Red Sox	P		Replaced because of injury
Corey Kluber	Cleveland Indians	P		Replaced Estrada
Francisco Lindor	Cleveland Indians	SS
Manny Machado	Baltimore Orioles	3B	Starter
Andrew Miller	New York Yankees	P
Eduardo Nunez	Minnesota Twins	3B
David Ortiz	Boston Red Sox	DH	Starter
Salvador Perez	Kansas City Royals	C	Starter	Top Vote-Getter
Jose Quintana	Chicago White Sox	P		Replaced Salazar
Danny Salazar	Cleveland Indians	P		Replaced because of injury
Chris Sale	Chicago White Sox	P		Starting Pitcher
Aaron Sanchez	Toronto Blue Jays	P		Replaced Kimbrel
Michael Saunders	Toronto Blue Jays	OF	Final Man Vote
Mike Trout	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	OF	Starter
Mark Trumbo	Baltimore Orioles	OF
Stephen Vogt	Oakland Athletics	C		Did not play
Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	C
Steven Wright	Boston Red Sox	P		Did not play

National League

Terry Collins of the New York Mets managed the National League team with coach Andy Green from the San Diego Padres.

Player	Team	Position	Selection	Notes
Nolan Arenado	Colorado Rockies	3B
Jake Arrieta	Chicago Cubs	P		Did not play
Brandon Belt	San Francisco Giants	1B	Final Man Vote
Jay Bruce	Cincinnati Reds	OF		Replaced Fowler
Kris Bryant	Chicago Cubs	3B	Starter
Madison Bumgarner	San Francisco Giants	P		Replaced under Sunday Starter Rule
Matt Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	3B		Replaced because of injury
Yoenis Cespedes	New York Mets	OF	Starter	Replaced because of injury
Bartolo Colon	New York Mets	P		Replaced Bumgarner Did not play
Johnny Cueto	San Francisco Giants	P		Starting Pitcher
Adam Duvall	Cincinnati Reds	OF
Aledmys Diaz	St. Louis Cardinals	SS		Replaced Carpenter
Jeurys Familia	New York Mets	P		Did not play
Jose Fernandez	Miami Marlins	P
Dexter Fowler	Chicago Cubs	OF	Starter	Replaced because of injury
Paul Goldschmidt	Arizona Diamondbacks	1B
Carlos Gonzalez	Colorado Rockies	OF
Bryce Harper	Washington Nationals	OF	Starter
Odubel Herrera	Philadelphia Phillies	OF
Kenley Jansen	Los Angeles Dodgers	P
Clayton Kershaw	Los Angeles Dodgers	P		Replaced because of injury
Jon Lester	Chicago Cubs	P
Jonathan Lucroy	Milwaukee Brewers	C
Starling Marte	Pittsburgh Pirates	OF		Replaced Cespedes
Mark Melancon	Pittsburgh Pirates	P
Daniel Murphy	Washington Nationals	2B
Wil Myers	San Diego Padres	1B
Marcell Ozuna	Miami Marlins	OF
Drew Pomeranz	San Diego Padres	P		Replaced Syndergaard
Buster Posey	San Francisco Giants	C	Starter
A.J. Ramos	Miami Marlins	P		Did not play
Wilson Ramos	Washington Nationals	C
Anthony Rizzo	Chicago Cubs	1B	Starter
Fernando Rodney	Miami Marlins	P
Addison Russell	Chicago Cubs	SS	Starter
Max Scherzer	Washington Nationals	P		Replaced Strasburg
Corey Seager	Los Angeles Dodgers	SS
Stephen Strasburg	Washington Nationals	P		Replaced because of injury
Noah Syndergaard	New York Mets	P		Replaced because of injury
Julio Teheran	Atlanta Braves	P
Ben Zobrist	Chicago Cubs	2B	Starter

The Game

When the players for the two leagues were named, two teams stood out in taking a large place, with the Chicago Cubs having their entire infield named to the starting line-up in the National League, and the Boston Red Sox sending six players, including 40-year-old DH David Ortiz, elected as a starter in what he had announced would be his final season. However, when the game was played, a third team emerged as giving its particular color to the game: the World Series-winning 2015 Kansas City Royals, who contributed not only the AL manager, as is traditional, in Ned Yost, but also the NL's starting pitcher in Johnny Cueto and the game's two principal heroes, 1B Eric Hosmer and C Salvador Perez. For his part, Perez had dominated the All-Star voting, gathering more votes than any other player.

In spite of the game being played in a National League park, the senior circuit was considered the visitors and batted first against Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale. He retired the first two batters of the game, but 3B Kris Bryant then tagged him for a home run for a 1-0 league. In the bottom of the inning, CF Mike Trout singled against Cueto, the fifth straight All-Star Game in which the Angels outfielder had collected a hit, but Ortiz hit a sharp liner to first base which was caught by Anthony Rizzo to end the inning. Corey Kluber came in to pitch the 2nd and had a perfect inning, after which the AL went to work. Hosmer tied the score with a home run against Cueto, then after RF Mookie Betts singled, Perez hit another homer to put the junior circuit up, 3-1. Cueto then gave way to Jose Fernandez, but the damage had been done.

The AL added an insurance run in the 3rd when Ortiz walked with two outs and was replaced by pinch-runner Edwin Encarnacion, receiving a rousing ovation from the crowd. SS Xander Bogaerts then doubled and Hosmer followed with a single to make it 4-1 for the AL. The NL cut the lead in the top of the 4th, wth Aaron Sanchez now pitching. C Buster Posey drew a walk, then CF Marcell Ozuna drove him in with a single. This was the score of the game, although there was still some drama left. The American League only managed to place two men on base after the 4th inning, both of them via walk, but the NL threatened a few times. In the 5th, 2B Daniel Murphy led off with an apparent ground out to second base, but NL manager Terry Collins appealed the play and the call was reversed. It was the first recourse to instant replay in All-Star Game history. PH Nolan Arenado then forced him out and reached third base when DH Wil Myers hit a two-out double off Jose Quintana, thrilling the hometown crowd, but both runners were left stranded when C Wilson Ramos struck out swinging.

The NL's best shot came in the 8th inning when, facing New York Yankees reliever Andrew Miller, they loaded the bases after two outs on singles by C Jonathan Lucroy and PH Starling Marte and a walk to LF Adam Duvall. Will Harris replaced Miller to face PH Aledmys Diaz, and he struck out the Cuban rookie on a full count to end the inning. Zack Britton then pitched the 9th inning; he allowed a lead-off single to Murphy, but 1B Paul Goldschmidt forced him out and 3B Arenado hit into a game-ending double play started by 3B Josh Donaldson.

Starting Lineups

National League				Batting Order		American League
Player	Position	Team				Player	Position	Team
Ben Zobrist	2B	Chicago Cubs		1		Jose Altuve	2B	Houston Astros
Bryce Harper	RF	Washington Nationals		2		Mike Trout	CF	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Kris Bryant	3B	Chicago Cubs		3		Manny Machado	3B	Baltimore Orioles
Wil Myers	DH	San Diego Padres		4		David Ortiz	DH	Boston Red Sox
Buster Posey	C	San Francisco Giants		5		Xander Bogaerts	SS	Boston Red Sox
Anthony Rizzo	1B	Chicago Cubs		6		Eric Hosmer	1B	Kansas City Royals
Marcell Ozuna	CF	Miami Marlins		7		Mookie Betts	RF	Boston Red Sox
Carlos Gonzalez	LF	Colorado Rockies		8		Salvador Perez	C	Kansas City Royals
Addison Russell	SS	Chicago Cubs		9		Jackie Bradley	LF	Boston Red Sox
Johnny Cueto	P	San Francisco Giants		SP		Chris Sale	P	Chicago White Sox

Line Score

July 12, 2016 at Petco Park (42,386), night game - Baseball Reference scoresheet

League	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
National	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	1
American	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	x	4	8	1

Pitchers

National: Johnny Cueto (L), Jose Fernandez, Drew Pomeranz, Julio Teheran, Max Scherzer, Jon Lester, Mark Melancon, Fernando Rodney, Kenley Jansen
American: Chris Sale, Corey Kluber (W), Cole Hamels, Aaron Sanchez, Jose Quintana, Kelvin Herrera, Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, Will Harris, Zach Britton (SV)

Home Runs

National: Kris Bryant (1st)
American: Eric Hosmer (2nd); Salvador Perez (2nd)

Umpires

HP: Mike Winters; 1B: Kerwin Danley; 2B: Marty Foster; 3B: Bill Welke; LF: Adrian Johnson; RF: Dan Bellino; Replay: Sam Holbrook

Further Reading

• Barry M. Bloom: "Padres' Petco Park selected to host '16 All-Star Game: Owners excited to bring event back to 'America's Finest City' for first time since '92", mlb. com, January 15, 2015. [1]
• A.J. Cassavell: "Kan Diego: RoyALs power All-Star win: MVP Hosmer, Perez homer in 2nd for Junior Circuit's 4th straight victory", mlb.com, July 13, 2016. [2]
• Anthony Castrovince: "All-Star rosters packed with dynamic talent", mlb.com, July 5, 2016. [3]
• T.R. Sullivan: "San Diego to host first All-Star Game since 1992: Gwynn one of five Padres in city's last ASG; Petco Park to host for the first time", mlb.com, January 15, 2015. [4]