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A History of MLB All-Star Games in Atlanta

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We’re just days away from the MLB All-Star festivities, most importantly the 95th Midsummer Classic. The event returns to Atlanta, Georgia, four years after the game was moved due to objections to state voting laws in 2021. The Braves have been waiting for their chance to host since Truist Park was opened in 2017, and now the entire baseball world will focus its attention on the ATL.

Atlanta has hosted the All-Star game twice since the team relocated from Milwaukee in 1966. The 1972 game in old Atlanta Stadium marked the franchise’s first real national exposure in its new city. Then, after a decade of team dominance, the contest returned to the newly opened Turner Field in 2000. With the latest home of the Braves set to host the biggest game of the summer, let’s take a trip down memory lane ahead of Tuesday’s matchup.

The History of the MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta

1972

In a year with numerous baseball greats all at or near their peaks, the 1972 All-Star Game did not disappoint. The American and National League rosters combined for a staggering 23 future Hall of Famers. The American League fielded names like Reggie Jackson, Carl Yastrzemski, Rod Carew, and Brooks Robinson. Jim Palmer started on the mound, and young future legends Nolan Ryan and Catfish Hunter made the roster but didn’t pitch.

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The National League lineup was also stacked, featuring the terrifying outfield trio of Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Willie Stargell. Roberto Clemente was voted a starter but missed the game with a knee injury in what would be his last All-Star game before his tragic death later that year. Mays got the start in his place as a New York Met, where he was traded just months prior. The pitching staff was loaded with names like Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, and Don Sutton.

American League Starting Lineup

  1. Rod Carew 2B
  2. Bobby Murcer CF
  3. Reggie Jackson RF
  4. Dick Allen 1B
  5. Carl Yastrzemski LF
  6. Bobby Grich SS
  7. Brooks Robinson 3B
  8. Bill Freehan C
  9. Jim Palmer SP

National League Starting Lineup

  1. Joe Morgan 2B
  2. Willie Mays CF
  3. Hank Aaron RF
  4. Willie Stargell LF
  5. Johnny Bench C
  6. Lee May 1B
  7. Joe Torre 3B
  8. Don Kessinger SS
  9. Bob Gibson SP

The Game

Gibson and Palmer traded zeroes through two innings before Rod Carew’s run-scoring single in the top of the third. The game would remain 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth, when hometown superstar Hank Aaron took Gaylord Perry deep to left-center field for a two-run home run. It would be the last All-Star Game homer by a hometown player for the next 25 years.

The AL would grab the lead back on a Cookie Rojas two-run homer off Bill Stonemann in the top of the eighth, but the NL scratched across one more run in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. After Tug McGraw set down Sal Bando, Carlton Fisk, and Lou Piniella in the top of the tenth, Joe Morgan delivered a walk-off single to win the ballgame and MVP honors.

2000

Turner Field, having opened three years prior in 1997, hosted the 2000 All-Star Game with Atlanta fresh off a World Series appearance. The lineups weren’t nearly as deep as in the city’s first rendition of the Midsummer Classic, but only because of all the big names who sat with various injuries. The AL missed Cal Ripken Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Manny Ramirez, while the NL was down Mike Piazza, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., and Barry Bonds.

Nonetheless, the stars were out in the inaugural All-Star Game of the 21st century. Roberto Alomar, Derek Jeter, and Bernie Williams led the way for the AL, while hometown hero Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, and Sammy Sosa paced the NL’s lineup. Randy Johnson, in the midst of his second of four straight Cy Young Award seasons, opposed David Wells on the hill. Fittingly, each squad’s manager was a legend of the Braves organization: Joe Torre and Bobby Cox.

American League Starting Lineup

  1. Roberto Alomar 2B
  2. Derek Jeter SS
  3. Bernie Williams CF
  4. Jason Giambi 1B
  5. Carl Everett LF
  6. Ivan Rodriguez C
  7. Jermaine Dye RF
  8. Travis Fryman 3B
  9. David Wells SP

National League Starting Lineup

  1. Barry Larkin SS
  2. Chipper Jones 3B
  3. Vladimir Guerrero LF
  4. Sammy Sosa RF
  5. Jeff Kent 2B
  6. Andres Galarraga 1B
  7. Jim Edmonds CF
  8. Jason Kendall C
  9. Randy Johnson SP

The Game

The AL was spared the full Randy Johnson experience, with the hulking lefty throwing just one scoreless inning to kick off the night. The game remained scoreless until Kevin Brown walked Carl Everett with the bases loaded to make it 1-0 AL in the top of the third. Then, Braves star Chipper Jones stepped up to the plate in the bottom half of the frame, looking for his second hit of the night.

Two Atlanta All-Star Games, two home runs by local legends. The moment would go down in Atlanta history, but the lead was short-lived, with Derek Jeter supplying a two-run single in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth, the NL would creep within a run on an RBI single from another Atlanta Brave, reserve outfielder Andruw Jones. However, the AL would put it away with three runs in the ninth off Trevor Hoffman. Jeter was named MVP of the contest with a perfect 3-for-3 night and the two RBI, and James Baldwin got the win despite allowing the Jones home run (Chipper also went 3-for-3).

Round Three

The latest Atlanta All-Star Game promises the same star power as the previous versions, with the likes of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani gracing the field for the two leagues on Tuesday, July 15th. Starting pitchers and lineups will be announced in the coming days. Anything can happen in the Midsummer Classic, but if history is any indication, those sitting in outfield seats should get their gloves ready when Ronald Acuña Jr. steps up to the plate. 

 

Photo Credit: © Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The post A History of MLB All-Star Games in Atlanta appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.