The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York City, home of the New York Yankees, on July 15, 2008, and began at 8:47 p.m. ET. The game ended at 1:38 a.m. ET the following morning. The home American League won 4–3 in 15 innings, giving home field advantage in the 2008 World Series to the AL champion, which eventually came to be the Tampa Bay Rays.
By length of time, this was the longest MLB All-Star Game in history (4 hours and 50 minutes), and it also tied the mark for the longest game by innings played at 15 with the 1967 All-Star Game. Second baseman Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins committed three errors, an All-Star Game record, none of which resulted in a run. J. D. Drew of the Boston Red Sox was named Most Valuable Player due to his two-run game-tying home run in the seventh inning. Drew won a Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid and the Ted Williams Trophy. It was the second All-Star Game in which the winning run was batted in by the Texas Rangers' Michael Young.
This was the fourth and final time that the All-Star Game was held at the original Yankee Stadium, which tied it with Cleveland Stadium for the most All-Star Games hosted by one venue.
Background As with each All-Star Game since 1970, the eight starting position players of each league, as well as the American League's designated hitter, were elected by fan balloting. The remaining players were selected by a players' vote, each league's team manager, and a second fan balloting to add one more player to each roster. In all, 32 players were selected to each league's team, not including players who decline to play due to injuries or personal reasons.
The game was the sixth straight All-Star Game to decide home-field advantage in the World Series, the AL having clinched each of the first five opportunities. The AL entered the game on an 11-game unbeaten streak (10–0–1) as the NL continued to look for their first win since the 1996 game in Philadelphia, still holding a 40–37–2 lead in the series.
Venue selection The announcement of Yankee Stadium as the site of the game was made by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on January 31, 2007, at New York's City Hall. Though it was the fourth game hosted at the Stadium and the eighth held in New York City, it was the first time since 1977 that the game had been played in the city (the last time also at Yankee Stadium). It had been speculated for months that the game would be held in Yankee Stadium, accelerated by the announcement that the 2008 season would be the 84th and final one for the stadium before the team moved into the new Yankee Stadium in 2009. Thus, it was seen as a fitting tribute to the old stadium that it host an All-Star Game in its final season.
It was the first All-Star Game to be played in a venue scheduled to close after that season.
Related events
The DHL FanFest, an indoor amusement park and quasi-museum, took place over five days beginning on July 11 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Manhattan's West Side. The XM All-Star Futures Game and the Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game were played on July 13 at Yankee Stadium. The Gatorade Workout Day and State Farm Home Run Derby was held July 14 at the stadium. 42 replicas of the Statue of Liberty (officially 43 when including the replica found at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center) were put on display beginning on June 20 at various sites throughout the city. They depicted every MLB team, the game logo, the league logo, and even the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants.
Fan balloting
Starters Balloting for the 2008 All-Star Game starters (excluding pitchers) began on April 29. Because the game was in an American League ballpark, fans were asked to select their favorite AL designated hitter in addition to all the position players. The top vote-getters at each position, and top three among outfielders, were named to start the game.
Votes were cast online and at the 30 MLB ballparks. Monster was the sponsor of the online portion of balloting. There was a limit of 25 votes per e-mail address, but no limit to the number of ballots cast at the stadium. The deadline to cast votes was July 2. Rosters were announced on July 6. Alex Rodriguez led all players in votes for the second consecutive year with 3,934,518 votes, while Chase Utley led all National League players with 3,889,602 votes.
Final roster spot After the rosters were revealed, a second ballot of five players per league was created for the Monster All-Star Final Vote to determine the 32nd and final player of each roster. Ballots were cast online between July 6 and 10 with the player in each league receiving the most votes added to the team rosters. The winners were Corey Hart of the Milwaukee Brewers and Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays. A record 47.8 million votes were cast in the balloting, shattering the record set the previous year of 23.2 million. Longoria's nine million votes more than doubled the individual record of 4.4 million set by San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young in 2007.
Player Team Pos. Experience(All Star/Seasons) Player Team Pos. Experience(All Star/Seasons) National League American LeagueCorey HartMILOF(0/5)Evan LongoriaTB3B(0/1)David WrightNYM3B(2/5)Jermaine DyeCWSOF(2/13)Pat BurrellPHIOF(0/9)Jason GiambiNYY1B(5/14)Aaron RowandSFOF(1/8)Brian RobertsBAL2B(2/8)Carlos LeeHOUOF(3/10)José GuillénKCOF(0/12)
Rosters Players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
National League
Elected startersPositionPlayerTeamAll-Star GamesCGeovany SotoCubs11BLance BerkmanAstros52BChase UtleyPhillies33BChipper JonesBraves6SSHanley RamírezMarlins1OFRyan BraunBrewers1OFKosuke FukudomeCubs1OFAlfonso SorianoCubs7DHAlbert Pujols Cardinals7 PitchersPositionPlayerTeamAll-Star GamesPAaron CookRockies1PRyan DempsterCubs2PDan HarenDiamondbacks2PBrad LidgePhillies2PTim LincecumGiants1PCarlos MármolCubs1PBen SheetsBrewers4PEdinson VólquezReds1PBilly WagnerMets6PBrandon WebbDiamondbacks3PBrian WilsonGiants1PKerry WoodCubs2PCarlos ZambranoCubs3
ReservesPositionPlayerTeamAll-Star GamesCRussell MartinDodgers2CBrian McCannBraves31BAdrián GonzálezPadres12BDan UgglaMarlins23BAramis RamírezCubs23BDavid WrightMets3SSCristian GuzmánNationals2SSMiguel TejadaAstros5OFCorey HartBrewers1OFMatt HollidayRockies3OFRyan LudwickCardinals1OFNate McLouthPirates1
American League
Elected startersPositioningPlayerTeamAll-Star GamesCJoe MauerTwins21BKevin YoukilisRed Sox12BDustin PedroiaRed Sox13BAlex RodriguezYankees12SSDerek JeterYankees9OFJosh HamiltonRangers1OFManny RamirezRed Sox12OFIchiro SuzukiMariners8DHDavid OrtizRed Sox5
PitchersPositionPlayerTeamAll-Star GamesPJustin DuchschererAthletics2PRoy HalladayBlue Jays5PScott KazmirRays2PCliff LeeIndians1PJoe NathanTwins3PJonathan PapelbonRed Sox3PMariano RiveraYankees9PFrancisco RodríguezAngels3PErvin SantanaAngels1PJoe SaundersAngels1PGeorge SherrillOrioles1PJoakim SoriaRoyals1
ReservesPositionPlayerTeamAll-Star GamesCDioner NavarroRays1CJason VaritekRed Sox31BJustin MorneauTwins22BIan KinslerRangers13BJoe CredeWhite Sox13BCarlos GuillénTigers33BEvan LongoriaRays1SSMichael YoungRangers5OFJ. D. DrewRed Sox1OFCarlos QuentinWhite Sox1OFGrady SizemoreIndians3DHMilton BradleyRangers1
Selected to start but unable to play due to injury. Milton Bradley took his place in the starting lineup. Selected to start but unable to play due to injury. Matt Holliday took his place in the starting lineup. David Wright took his place on the roster. Won the Monster All-Star Final Vote. Unable to play due to injury. Carlos Mármol took his place on the roster. Lincecum was not available to the National League due to flu-like symptoms he suffered earlier in the day.
Game
Ceremonies To commemorate the last all-star game at Yankee Stadium, every living member of the Baseball Hall of Fame was invited to the game. Forty-nine players, coaches, and administrators accepted the invitation. Many of them participated in a pre-game parade that went up Sixth Avenue from Bryant Park to Central Park. During the pre-game ceremonies, the Hall of Famers were introduced and assumed their playing position on the field. Instead of announcing the league lineups separately and in batting order, as is usually done, both teams' starters were introduced simultaneously by position, and the players stood in position next to the Hall of Fame members on the field.
The colors were presented by the West Point Cadet Color Guard. A recording of O Canada was played, and "The Star-Spangled Banner" was sung by Sheryl Crow, during which a B-2 stealth bomber flew over. Four Yankees, all members of the Baseball Hall of Fame – Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson and Rich Gossage – threw the ceremonial first pitch, with balls delivered to them by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
During the seventh-inning stretch, Josh Groban sang "God Bless America".
Umpires The six umpires working the 79th All-Star game were announced on June 25. The crew was led by Derryl Cousins, a thirty-year MLB veteran working his third All-Star game and his first behind the plate. Position Umpire Home Plate Derryl Cousins First Base Ed Rapuano Second Base Tom Hallion Third Base Mark Wegner Left Field Greg Gibson Right Field Phil Cuzzi
Starting lineups National LeagueAmerican LeagueOrderPlayerTeamPositionOrderPlayerTeamPosition1Hanley RamírezMarlinsSS1Ichiro SuzukiMarinersRF2Chase UtleyPhillies2B2Derek JeterYankeesSS3Lance BerkmanAstros1B3Josh HamiltonRangersCF4Albert PujolsCardinalsDH4Alex RodriguezYankees3B5Chipper JonesBraves3B5Manny RamírezRed SoxLF6Matt HollidayRockiesRF6Milton BradleyRangersDH7Ryan BraunBrewersLF7Kevin YoukilisRed Sox1B8Kosuke FukudomeCubsCF8Joe MauerTwinsC9Geovany SotoCubsC9Dustin PedroiaRed Sox2B Ben SheetsBrewersP Cliff LeeIndiansP
Coaches Tigers manager Jim Leyland and Yankees manager Joe Girardi were selected as coaches by manager Terry Francona. The staff also included Brad Mills (bench coach), John Farrell (pitching coach), Dave Magadan (hitting coach), Luis Alicea (first base coach), DeMarlo Hale, (third base coach), and Gary Tuck (bullpen coach). Girardi also caught in the bullpen in the eighth and ninth innings for some of the American League relievers.
New York Mets manager Willie Randolph and San Diego Padres manager Bud Black were selected as coaches by manager Clint Hurdle. Randolph was later replaced by Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella after Randolph was fired by the Mets on June 16.
Game summary
The game-time temperature was , with the wind blowing out to center field at eight miles per hour. Cliff Lee threw the first pitch at 8:47 EDT. Starting pitchers Lee and Ben Sheets set the tone for the game by each throwing two scoreless innings. The game stayed scoreless until the fifth inning when Matt Holliday led off the inning with a home run off Ervin Santana to give the National League a 1–0 lead. The NL added a run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Lance Berkman to score Hanley Ramírez. The American League finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning on a two-out, two-run home run by J. D. Drew off Edinson Vólquez, tying the game at two.