With score tied 3-3 and the 12th inning about to start, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig could no longer sit. He was wondering if all the great pageantry of the last ever Mid-Summer Classic at Yankee Stadium was going to end in a tie.
The phrase, “this one doesn’t count,” didn’t sound quite right.
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“I was nervous,” Selig said via conference call this week, “and I walked all over Yankee Stadium. The thought of the game ending in a tie was clearly an option that I did not want think about.”
The 4-hour, 50-minute 15-inning marathon ended at 1:37 a.m. when Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young’s sacrifice fly to give the American League a 4-3 victory. Scott Kazmir, the last pitcher the American League had left, pitched two innings. Had the game gone to a 16th inning, Boston outfielder J.D. Drew would have been on the mound for the American League. Fortunately, for Selig and baseball fans, it didn’t end that way.
I spoke to Selig about his thoughts on this year’s All-Star Game:
Are you still committed to the league that wins gets to be the home team in the World Series?
Selig » “Absolutely. I can tell you the players and managers are really into the game. You look at the dugouts and you will see players watching from the top step and the managers doing everything they can to win the game. In the old days, we had guys playing their three innings, taking a shower and heading for the airport before the game was over. … But that is no longer the case, as everybody cares about the game and that is as it should be.”
Has the World Baseball Classic helped promote the All-Star Game worldwide?
Selig » “It really has taken our game and made it bigger. We have the best All-Star game of all sports and, with the success of the WBC, we have larger audiences in Asia and Latin America — where we already had a good base. But we have expanded that base to include China, Africa and Australia, along with Europe, as the game continues to grow worldwide.”
The 80th All-Star Game will air on FOX at 8 p.m. Tuesday from St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.
