2015_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game
The 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 86th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was played at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio on Tuesday, July 14. It was televised nationally on Fox. The American League All-Stars defeated the National League All-Stars by a score of 6–3.
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| Date | July 14, 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Great American Ball Park | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Cincinnati, Ohio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managers |
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| MVP | Mike Trout (LAA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 43,656 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ceremonial first pitch | Sandy Koufax | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | Fox (United States) MLB International (International) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Joe Buck, Harold Reynolds, Tom Verducci, Ken Rosenthal, and Erin Andrews (Fox) Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz (MLB International) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On January 21, 2013, then-Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bud Selig, announced the 2015 All-Star Game would be hosted by the Cincinnati Reds. This was the first time the city of Cincinnati has hosted the All-Star Game since the 1988 All-Star Game was played at Riverfront Stadium.[1]
On July 15, 2014, Selig also announced that Pete Rose would not be prohibited from participating in the 2015 All-Star Game ceremonies.[2] Rose was an All-Star for 13 of the 19 seasons he played on the Reds and was a member of the Big Red Machine. In 1991, Rose was permanently banned from MLB for baseball betting. Rose, wearing a red sport coat, appeared on the field in front of the pitcher's mound before the game and received a standing ovation alongside former teammates Johnny Bench, Barry Larkin, and Joe Morgan.
On May 12, 2015, the Reds announced that Todd Frazier would serve as the 2015 All-Star Game spokesperson.[3][4]
Mike Trout, an outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels, was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player for the second straight year.
Starters
Balloting for the 2015 All-Star Game starters began online April 23 and ended on July 2. The top vote-getters at each position (including the designated hitter for the American League) and the top three among outfielders, were named the starters for their respective leagues. The results were announced on July 5. A record 620 million votes were cast, surpassing the record of 391 million votes in 2012. Josh Donaldson was the leading vote-getter with 14,090,188 votes, breaking the record that Josh Hamilton set in 2012 with 11,073,744 votes. Bryce Harper set a new NL record for votes this year with 13,864,950 votes.[5]
However, MLB canceled at least 65 million ballots on grounds of fraud and ballot stuffing.[6] At one point during the balloting, the top vote-getters for eight of the starting nine positions for the American League were Kansas City Royals players.[7]
Final roster spot
After the rosters were finalized, a second ballot of five players per league was created for the All-Star Final Vote to determine the 34th and final player of each roster. The online balloting were conducted from July 6 through July 10. Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees was removed from the ballot on July 9 after he replaced Alex Gordon on the roster due to injury.[8] The winners of the All-Star Final Vote were Mike Moustakas of the Kansas City Royals (AL) and Carlos Martinez of the St. Louis Cardinals (NL).[9]
| Player | Team | Pos. | Player | Team | Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American League | National League | ||||
| Xander Bogaerts | Red Sox | SS | Johnny Cueto | Reds | P |
| Yoenis Céspedes | Tigers | OF | Jeurys Familia | Mets | P |
| Brian Dozier | Twins | 2B | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | P |
| Mike Moustakas | Royals | 3B | Carlos Martinez | Cardinals | P |
| Troy Tulowitzki | Rockies | SS | |||
- ^ Andrew McCutchen was named starter in place of Giancarlo Stanton due to injury.
- ^ Kris Bryant was named as the roster replacement for Stanton.
- ^ Albert Pujols was named starter in place of Miguel Cabrera due to injury.
- ^ Mark Teixeira was named as the roster replacement for Cabrera.
- ^ Brett Gardner was named as the roster replacement for Alex Gordon.
- ^ Adam Jones was named starter in place of Alex Gordon due to injury.
- ^ Brian Dozier was named as the roster replacement for José Bautista due to injury.
- ^ DJ LeMahieu was named starter in place of Dee Gordon due to injury.
- ^ Troy Tulowitzki was named as the roster replacement for Dee Gordon.
- ^ Hector Santiago was named as a replacement for Sonny Gray due to Gray starting on Sunday.
- ^ Clayton Kershaw was named as a replacement for Max Scherzer due to Scherzer starting on Sunday.
- ^ Joc Pederson was named starter in place of Matt Holliday due to injury.
- ^ Ryan Braun was named as a roster replacement for Holliday.
- #: Indicates player would not play (replaced as per reference notes above).
Mike Trout of the Angels led off the game with a home run off Zack Greinke. The NL tied the score in the bottom of the second when Jhonny Peralta drove in Paul Goldschmidt with an RBI single off AL starter Dallas Keuchel. In the top of the fifth, Prince Fielder, who was pinch hitting for Nelson Cruz, hit a go-ahead RBI single off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw that scored Trout to give the AL a 2–1 lead.[10] The next batter, Lorenzo Cain, hit an RBI double to score Albert Pujols to make it a 3–1 ballgame. In the bottom of the sixth, Andrew McCutchen homered off Chris Archer to make it a one-run game. In the top of the seventh, Trout walked and was lifted for pinch runner Brock Holt who scored on an RBI double by Manny Machado to give the AL a 4–2 lead. Machado then scored on a sac fly by Fielder to make it a 5–2 game. In the top of the eighth inning, the Twins' Brian Dozier hit a home run to make it a 6–2 ballgame.[11] In the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Braun led off with a triple to right field off of Twins closer Glen Perkins, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Crawford to make it a 6–3 score. The next batter, Cubs rookie Kris Bryant, flied to right for the second out, and finally, Joe Panik lined out to left field to seal the AL's third straight victory and earn home-field advantage in the World Series.[12]
Starting lineup
| American | National | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order | Player | Team | Position | Order | Player | Team | Position |
| 1 | Mike Trout | Angels | CF | 1 | Andrew McCutchen | Pirates | CF |
| 2 | Josh Donaldson | Blue Jays | 3B | 2 | Todd Frazier | Reds | 3B |
| 3 | Albert Pujols | Angels | 1B | 3 | Bryce Harper | Nationals | RF |
| 4 | Nelson Cruz | Mariners | DH | 4 | Paul Goldschmidt | Diamondbacks | 1B |
| 5 | Lorenzo Cain | Royals | RF | 5 | Buster Posey | Giants | C |
| 6 | Adam Jones | Orioles | LF | 6 | Anthony Rizzo | Cubs | DH |
| 7 | Salvador Pérez | Royals | C | 7 | Jhonny Peralta | Cardinals | SS |
| 8 | José Altuve | Astros | 2B | 8 | Joc Pederson | Dodgers | LF |
| 9 | Alcides Escobar | Royals | SS | 9 | DJ LeMahieu | Rockies | 2B |
| Dallas Keuchel | Astros | P | Zack Greinke | Dodgers | P | ||
Entertainment
The Canadian national anthem was sung by Columbus Blue Jackets anthem singer Leo Welsh. The American national anthem was sung by R&B singer Ciara, accompanied by three female backup singers. During the seventh inning stretch, country singer Josh Turner sang God Bless America.
Line score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| National League | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Starting pitchers: AL: Dallas Keuchel NL: Zack Greinke WP: David Price (1–0) LP: Clayton Kershaw (0–1) Home runs: AL: Mike Trout (1), Brian Dozier (1) NL: Andrew McCutchen (1) Attendance: 43,656 Time: 3:02 Umpires: Home Plate – Tim Welke; First Base – Jerry Meals; Second Base – Paul Schrieber; Third Base – Ron Kulpa; Left Field – James Hoye; Right Field – Alan Porter; Replay Official – Brian Gorman[14] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Sheldon, Mark (January 23, 2012). "Wish granted: Reds to host 2015 All-Star Game". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
- Estes, Ben (July 15, 2014). "Bud Selig: Reds can include Pete Rose in 2015 All-Star Game festivities". si.com. SI Wire. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- Sheldon, Mark (May 12, 2015). "Frazier named All-Star Game ambassador". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- Clark, David (May 12, 2015). "Todd Frazier to serve as 2015 All-Star Game spokesperson". Cincinnati.com. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- Miller, Doug. "AL, NL starters unveiled; pitchers, reserves next". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- Scott, Nate (June 19, 2015). "MLB cancels 65 million votes for the All-Star Game". USA Today. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- Foster, Jason (June 18, 2015). "MLB says it has canceled as many as 65 million All-Star ballots". Sporting News. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- Raynor, Grace. "Gardner subs for Gordon on AL All-Star roster". MLB.com. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
- Newman, Mark (July 10, 2015). "Show Me the Final Vote: Moose, Martinez win". MLB.com. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- "86th All-Star Game: American League wins 6-3 as Trout wins second straight MVP". Washington Post. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- "Mike Trout, Prince Fielder lead AL to All-Star Game win". USA Today. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- "Mike Trout goes deep right off the bat to carry American League to win". ESPN. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- "American 6, National 3". MLB.com. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- "Umpires, Official Scorers Announced for 2015 All-Star Game" (Press release). Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP. July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
