Photo Credit: Fox Sports
Just a few days without baseball makes us miss the home runs and strike three calls. Let’s take a look back at this year’s All Star festivities that took place in Cincinnati!
The beginning of the week starts with the Home Run Derby and then the All-Star Game is next leading to a 2-day much-needed break for the MLB. The Home Run Derby was won by Todd Fraizer. Fraizer is a third baseman for Cincinnati Reds and won with 15 home runs.
One of the biggest events during the All-Star game was the reveal of the Franchise Four. The Franchise Four is a fan vote on who they believe are the four players that have made the most impact on their team. The Cincinnati Reds went last since they had home-field advantage and their franchise four included Johnny Bench, Barry Larkin, Joe Morgan and Pete Rose. Certainly, Rose was an interesting choice given all of the negative publicity he has received as of lately.
The game started off exciting with Los Angeles Angels centerfielder, Mike Trout hitting a dinger and setting the stage for him to become the superstar of the game. While Trout did end up winning MVP this year (as well as last year), he couldn’t have done it without a talented roster behind him. Some of the most influential players on the roster included Prince Fielder, Jose Iglesias, Manny Machado and Brian Dozier. Trout’s win also makes him the first player to win All-Star MVP back to back.
Obviously, the National League deserves attention too. They put up a valiant effort but ended up being beaten 6-3. New York Mets Pitcher, Jacob deGrom achieved a first in All-Star history, striking out the AL with only 10 pitches that inning. That inning also seemed like the NL’s comeback with Pittsburgh Pirates Andrew McCutchen hitting a homer to try to even the score which, unfortunately, was to no anvil. The NL’s last win was in 2012 and they trail the AL by 2 wins currently.
