Major League Baseball All-Star Game 2012
Pablo Sandoval and Melky Cabrera turned the All-Star game into a Giant blowout.
Flashing their bright orange spikes and booming bats, the San Francisco sluggers keyed a five-run blitz against Justin Verlander in the first inning that sent the National League to an 8-0 romp over the American League on Tuesday night.
Cabrera homered and won the MVP award, and Giants teammate Matt Cain started a strong pitching performance for the NL in its most-lopsided All-Star victory. Cain combined with Stephen Strasburg, R.A. Dickey, Aroldis Chapman and the rest of a lights-out staff on a six-hitter.
“San Francisco Giants show” – Matt Kemp of the rival Dodgers said during the game.
Ryan Braun (an All-Star again after his drug suspension was overturned last winter) doubled, tripled and made a fine catch in the outfield to help give the NL its first three-game winning streak in two decades.
Chipper Jones singled in his final All-Star at-bat at age 40 as the NL, under retired manager Tony La Russa, once again claimed home-field advantage in the World Series.
Teen sensation Bryce Harper had a shaky All-Star debut. Fellow rookie Mike Trout (only 20) showed off his dynamic skills.
All-Star Game 2012.
Well, it’s official. We’re all idiots. All of us.
OK, maybe not all of us on the entire planet. But all of us media geniuses who spent the last week and a half weighing in on this All-Star Game. We’re clearly idiots.
What other conclusion is there, now that we can look back on the National League’s 8-0 wipeout of the mighty American League on Tuesday, in the 83rd All-Star Game in baseball history?
We didn’t think Pablo Sandoval should be the NL’s starting third baseman, right? We didn’t think Buster Posey should be the NL’s starting catcher, right? We weren’t so sure about Melky Cabrera starting in the outfield or Matt Cain being the starting pitcher, either, right?
Well – we’re idiots. Period.
We should have known all along that, of course, Sandoval would go out and shock the world with a three-run, first-inning triple off Justin Verlander – the first bases-clearing triple in All-Star Game history.
And, of course, Posey would be one of the three runners scoring on that triple, and would spend the rest of his evening catching five innings of the NL’s first All-Star shutout since 1996.
Of course, Cain would twirl two shutout innings and wind up as the winning pitcher.
And, of course, it was the Melk Man who would deliver a first-inning hit off Verlander, followed by a game-breaking, two-run homer in the fourth inning, and would finish his route by bringing home an MVP award to all his dairy lovers out west.
The 2012 All-Star Game in Kansas City was over just as soon as it started, mostly thanks to the contributions by the San Francisco Giants.
With electric Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander on the mound to start the game for the American League, two players who were not even expected to start ended up being the biggest contributors on offense for the National League. From starting outfielder Melky Cabrera hitting the game’s only home run and winning the MVP award to starting third baseman Pablo Sandoval hitting the first bases-loaded triple in All-Star history, the Giants either scored or batted in seven of the eight NL runs.
Prior to the final release of the NL starters for this year’s All-Star game, both Cabrera and Sandoval were behind in the fan voting at their respective positions. With a huge push by Giants fans in the last week of voting, both players ended up winning the right to start for the NL to the disgust of many fans – mostly for Sandoval earning the start over New York Mets’ David Wright – from around the nation. Had this surge voting not occurred, these two players would have probably seen action as bench players in the fourth inning or later instead of having the chance to contribute in a huge way to their team’s win.
Sandoval was not the only Giants representative who found some redemption in his All-Star performance. Named the NL starter just a day before the game, some fans were enraged by manager Tony La Russa’s decision to start Matt Cain over R.A. Dickey, a journeyman pitcher with an amazing and inspiring story akin to Ryan Vogelsong’s surprising season from a year ago.
After allowing a leadoff single to New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Cain shut down the next six AL batters before being replaced with the Washington Nationals’ Gio Gonzalez in the third inning. Buster Posey – the last of the Giants starters – scored a run after drawing a walk in the first inning and caught five shutout innings from Cain, Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, and Clayton Kershaw.
Simply put, this year’s All-Star game was memorable for the contributions made by all of the Giants representatives. Despite criticism and a big spotlight on them during the Midsummer Classic, Cabrera, Sandoval, Cain, and Posey stole the show and made a memorable moment that nearly did not occur.