CLEVELAND -- Over the course of nearly a century of MLB All-Star Games, there have been plenty of moments where a Cleveland player has shined on the national stage alongside the game’s top talent.
Let’s take a look at 10 of the top performances by a Cleveland player in All-Star Game history.
1. Sandy’s game-winning homer in Cleveland
Sandy Alomar Jr. not only became the first Cleveland player to earn MVP honors at the MLB All-Star Game, but he did so in front of his home crowd. Jacobs Field gave the backstop a warm welcome when he stepped to the plate in the seventh inning of the 1997 Midsummer Classic. Alomar promptly launched a two-out, go-ahead two-run homer off San Francisco’s Shawn Estes that snapped a 1-1 tie, before the American League went on to win, 3-1. In a postgame interview, Alomar dedicated the game to his late grandmother, who passed away several days prior.
2. Bieber electrifies the hometown crowd
Progressive Field has hosted two All-Star Games. A Cleveland player has earned MVP honors on both occasions, as Shane Bieber followed in Alomar’s footsteps in the 2019 Midsummer Classic. Bieber preserved the American League’s 1-0 lead by tossing a scoreless fifth inning in which he struck out the side on 19 pitches. He set down Willson Contreras looking and Ketel Marte swinging, which set up a duel with Ronald Acuña Jr. With the ballpark chanting “Let’s go Bieber,” the right-hander got Acuña looking on a 3-2 slider to finish off a stellar performance that keyed the AL’s 4-3 win.
3. Rosen’s two-homer game at home
Cleveland also hosted the MLB All-Star Game in 1954, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. While a hometown hero did not earn MVP honors, that’s because the award didn’t debut until eight years later. Cleveland third baseman Al Rosen would have been a fitting candidate after he went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs in the American League’s 11-9 win. Rosen (who won the AL MVP Award in ‘53) hit a three-run blast off the Phillies’ Robin Roberts in the third inning and added a two-run shot off the Giants’ Johnny Antonelli in the fifth.
4. Doby’s clutch pinch-hit home run
Rosen wasn’t the only Cleveland player to come up big in the 1954 Midsummer Classic. Larry Doby gave the American League new life in the eighth inning, when he hit a pinch-hit solo homer off Milwaukee’s Gene Conley to tie the game at 9. Chicago’s Nellie Fox delivered a two-run single later in the inning to help the AL pull off its 11-9 win.
5. Lee starts a marathon
The 2008 All-Star Game at old Yankee Stadium was a 15-inning marathon that spanned four hours and 50 minutes before the American League won, 4-3. Cleveland lefty Cliff Lee came out full speed ahead. Lee started for the AL (the sixth time a Cleveland pitcher has started the Midsummer Classic) and retired six of the seven batters he faced. Lee struck out Hanley Ramirez and Chase Utley in the first inning and punched out Ryan Braun to end his outing. Lee went on to win the AL Cy Young Award that season.
6. Kenny in the clutch
Kenny Lofton earned six All-Star nods during his 17-year career, including five with Cleveland. His first (in 1994 at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium) quickly proved to be memorable. Lofton was elected to the game as a reserve, and he hit a two-run single in his first at-bat -- in the seventh inning off Philadelphia’s Danny Jackson -- that gave the American League a 7-5 lead. The National League went on to win, 8-7, following a walk-off double by Montreal’s Moises Alou.
7. Averill off the bench
The American League fell into a 4-0 hole after three innings in the 1934 All-Star Game at the Polo Grounds. They stormed back and took a 5-4 lead, and Earl Averill was at the center of the rally. Averill pinch-hit in the top of the fourth inning and hit an RBI triple off Cubs right-hander Lon Warneke that cut the deficit to 4-2. In the fifth, Averill’s two-run double off the Dodgers’ Van Mungo gave the AL a 6-4 lead, before it went on to win, 9-7. Averill’s three RBIs in the game are the second most by a Cleveland player in an All-Star Game, only trailing Rosen’s five in ‘54.
8. Boudreau leads things off
The 1942 season not only saw Lou Boudreau earn his third All-Star nod, but his first as Cleveland’s player-manager. Boudreau kicked off MLB’s 10th Midsummer Classic by belting a leadoff homer off Cardinals right-hander Mort Cooper -- who went on to win the National League MVP Award that season. Boudreau became only the second player to hit a leadoff homer in the All-Star Game (following the Cardinals’ Frankie Frisch in 1934) and the first to do so in the top of the first inning. Boudreau’s homer helped the American League win, 3-1, at the Polo Grounds in New York.
9. Guards Ball at the Midsummer Classic
Steven Kwan’s skill set is perhaps a perfect encapsulation of “Guards Ball,” i.e. working long at-bats and putting the ball in play. It was on display at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta. The American League trailed, 6-5, with two outs in the ninth inning when Kwan hit an RBI infield single off Mets closer Edwin Díaz. Kwan worked a seven-pitch at-bat during which he fouled off two 1-2 pitches before he delivered the game-tying hit. It completed the AL’s rally from a 6-0 deficit, before the National League prevailed, 7-6, following the first-of-its-kind Home Run Derby-like swing-off.
10. Baerga’s hit parade
During its magical 1995 season, Cleveland sent six players to the All-Star Game held in Texas at The Ballpark in Arlington. Carlos Baerga was among three Cleveland players in the American League’s starting lineup (alongside Lofton and Albert Belle), and the second baseman had a big night. Baerga logged nearly half of the AL’s eight hits while going 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored. The NL won, 3-2.