All-Star Edition: Minnesota Musings

Today’s All-Star game is the third in Minnesota, and the third in a different stadium. Today’s game will be the first in Minnesota without Pete Rose in the lineup, after Charlie Hustle started the 1965 game and appeared as a pinch-hitter in 1985, the latter appearance at age 44 making Rose the oldest NL All-Star (Satchel Paige was the oldest AL All-Star at age 47 in 1953) . Today’s game will also be the first in Minnesota with the DH, as that innovation made a delayed All-Star appearance only in 1989.

More on Minnesota’s all-star history after the jump.

The 1965 game was hosted by that year’s AL champs, as were the subsequent 1977 and 1997 games. The 1970 Reds are the last NL team to host an A-S game and go on to win the pennant.

The 1965 game was the second of three with two pitchers in the game (Milt Pappas, Dan Maloney) allowing two home runs, but the only one of those games (the others were in 1951 and 1971) with both of those pitchers being thus victimized in a single inning. Here are the pitchers who appeared in 1965. Is it just me or does the AL not appear a little over-matched?

NL Pitching IP H R ER BB SO HR BF GSc WPA
Juan Marichal 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 57 0.096
Jim Maloney 1.2 5 5 5 2 1 2 12 -0.420
Don Drysdale 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.014
Sandy Koufax, W (1-0) 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 5 0.073
Turk Farrell, H (1) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0.104
Bob Gibson, S (1) 2 2 0 0 1 3 0 9 0.321
Team Totals 9 8 5 6 5 2 40 57 0.188
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/15/2014.
AL Pitching IP H R ER BB SO HR BF GSc WPA
Milt Pappas 1 4 3 3 1 0 2 8 32 -0.251
Mudcat Grant 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 8 -0.085
Pete Richert 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 7 0.027
Sam McDowell, L (0-1) 2 3 1 1 1 2 0 9 -0.082
Eddie Fisher 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 0.080
Team Totals 9 11 6 3 7 3 40 32 -0.311
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/15/2014.

Over-matched or not, the AL hung a nasty WPA score on Jim Maloney, the second lowest for an All-Star pitcher who did not record a loss or blown save; the only lower score was -0.543 by the NL’s Roy Face in the first 1959 game, like 1965 a one-run victory for the senior circuit.

The 1985 game was the only time that the NL has had 4 players hit a double, something the AL has done 5 times, most recently in last year’s game. This game was also the third time that the AL drove in its only run with a sacrifice fly, something that the NL didn’t do until the 2001 game.

Quiz time: Jack Morris took the loss for the AL in 1985 while representing the defending world champions.

  • Before Morris, who was the last non-Yankee pitcher to lose the A-S game while representing the defending world champions?
  • Who is the only pitcher to play on a world championship team and take the loss in the next year’s A-S game while representing a different team?
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birtelcom
Editor
9 years ago

Your mention of the Twins hosting the 1965 All-Star Game had me checking to see how often a team that hosted an A-S Game also hosted a World Series game the same season. I count ten times that has happened, although in only three cases did the All-Star host team win the World Series in which it was participating: Yankees 1939 (won the World Series) Red Sox 1946 Dodgers 1949 Indians 1954 Dodgers 1959 (won the World Series)(hosted one of two All-Star Games) Yankees 1960 (hosted one of two All-Star Games) Twins 1965 Reds 1970 Yankees 1977 (won the World… Read more »

oneblankspace
9 years ago
Reply to  birtelcom

In the 1969-1993 era of two teams per league making the postseason, the 1983 White Sox hosted the All-Star Game and won their division.

Other teams to do that included
1974 Pirates
1976 Phillies
1983 Sox
1986 Astros
1991 Blue Jays

and of course the Reds and Yankees listed above.

Doug
Doug
9 years ago

Derek Jeter is now the oldest player with two hits in an A-S game, about two months older than Yaz in the 1979 game.

Artie Z
Artie Z
9 years ago

I believe Catfish in 1975 is the answer to the second question. Played for the A’s in 1974, and took the loss as a Yankee in 1975.

Doug
Doug
9 years ago
Reply to  Artie Z

Hunter is the one.

Artie Z
Artie Z
9 years ago

Is Mort Cooper the answer to the first question? Pitched for the 1942 Cardinals, winning the MVP, and then lost the AS Game in 1943.

Doug
Doug
9 years ago
Reply to  Artie Z

Right again.

Meanwhile, the following Yankee pitchers have done the same: Phil Hughes (2010), Goose Gossage (1978), Whitey Ford (1959), Allie Reynolds (1953), Eddie Lopat (1951), Red Ruffing (1940), Lefty Gomez (1938).

Doug
Doug
9 years ago
Reply to  Artie Z

I see that Walker Cooper caught his brother in both the 1942 and 1943 A-S games. Both were also selected in 1946, but only Walker played.

Rick and Wes Ferrell were both selected for the AL for the first A-S game in 1933, but only Rick played.

Doug
Doug
9 years ago

Johnathan Lucroy is now the first catcher with two doubles and two RBI in the A-S game.

John Autin
Editor
9 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Lucroy and doubles! With 32 in regular play, Lucroy is on a 54-doubles pace. Record for a catcher is 47 doubles, by Pudge Rodriguez, and #2 is Yadier’s 44 last year. P.S. I see that in Morris’s 1985 All-Star loss, the NL starter and winner was LaMarr Hoyt, the 1983 AL CYA winner. Hoyt was not an All-Star in ’83, as he was just 9-8, 4.14 in the first half, then went 15-2 in the 2nd half to cop the hardware. In ’85, it was the opposite — 12-4, 2.93 1st half, 4-4, 4.48 2nd half. Then pitched one more… Read more »

RJ
RJ
9 years ago
Reply to  John Autin

Hoyt’s Bullpen page says that the abrupt end to his career was due to multiple arrests on drug charges in ’86, leading to him being suspended for the ’87 season (later reduced). The White Sox gave him another shot, but he was arrested again in late ’87 and that was that.

Other miscellany: Hoyt’s only postseason appearance was a complete game five-hitter (no walks) against the eventual champ Orioles in ’83.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198310050.shtml

He was the main piece in the trade that brought Ozzie Guillen to the White Sox.

oneblankspace
9 years ago
Reply to  RJ

1983 was the first time the Orioles had ever trailed 1-0 in an ALCS.

John Autin
Editor
9 years ago

On a tangent, I thought tonight’s All-Star Game was one of the best I’ve seen. No big late drama, but well played, and with big hits by big stars.

Very modern, too — no one pitched more than one inning. The future of baseball? 🙂

Doug
Doug
9 years ago
Reply to  John Autin

Agree.

Very enjoyable game to watch.

Interesting that a Minnesotan pitcher figured in this game (Perkins) and also the 1985 game (Morris). It’s not like there are a lot of them; in 1965, only one in the majors was Dick Stigman who played for … Minnesota.

Mark
Mark
9 years ago

Doug,

Sorry for the extreme tangent here, but I’ve periodically kept my eye on a quiz you posted a couple months ago, partly because of my OCD but mostly out of curiosity for the actual answer:

http://www.highheatstats.com/2014/04/quiz-world-series-champs/

Even though it showed up in my RSS feed, I feel like the page got “lost” in the blog chronology somehow, and thus never garnered any engagement from comment-solvers.

Just generally, keep up the awesome work — you, and all. Love the site!

Doug
Doug
9 years ago
Reply to  Mark

You’re right, Mark.

There were a number of posts that followed that quiz in quick succession, so that the quiz never got any response.

The answer, BTW, is that those teams are the only WS champs to lose their first 3 home games of the following season.

RJ
RJ
9 years ago
Reply to  Doug

I remember taking a look at that quiz and having no clue what the answer was. Now that I know the answer I can say with confidence that I would never had worked it out. A proper stumper!

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
9 years ago
Reply to  RJ

I second the thought.