Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
A year after his brother was named the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game, Roberto Alomar received the MVP Award in 1998 as the American League scored a 13-8 victory in the highest-scoring Midsummer Classic Game in history.
The 21-run, 31-hit, 11-walk affair as played at Coors Field in Denver on July 7. Alomar hit one of three home runs in the game.
Cleveland catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. had won the MVP Award in 1997 for hitting a game-winning homer. Orioles starting second baseman Roberto Alomar was 3-for-4 with a solo homer, two runs scored and one of the American League's All-Star Game-record five stolen bases. He also made several outstanding defensive plays.
Of course, the Padres were headed to their second National League championship in 1998. Tony Gwynn was voted into the NL starting lineup and went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
Padres pitchers Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Trevor Hoffman were also named to the NL All-Star team, along with left fielder Greg Vaughn.
Brown struck out two in a perfect two-thirds of an inning in relief of Tom Glavine.
Both AL home runs came off Padres. Ashby gave up a solo homer to Alex Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners in the fifth. That was the only hit and run allowed by Ashby, who also issued a walk and had a strikeout. Alomar homered off Hoffman in the seventh. That was the baserunner off Hoffman, who struck out one in an inning.
Vaughn hit a two-run pinch-hit single off Boston's Tom Gordon in the eighth for the National League's final two runs. He finished the game in left field.
Starting pitchers David Wells of the Yankees and Greg Maddux of the Braves each worked two scoreless innings to start the game.
The National League took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third against Toronto's Roger Clemens on Gwynn's one-out, two-run, bases-loaded single.
The American League took a 4-2 lead against Glavine in the top of the third with the big hits being a two-run double by Baltimore third baseman Cal Ripken Jr., a bases-loaded drawn by Seattle center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. (that forced home Ripken) and a sacrifice fly off Brown by Texas right fielder Juan Gonzalez.
A RBI single by Atlanta shortstop Walt Weiss in the bottom of the fourth cut the American League lead to 4-3, although Rodriguez's homer off Ashby in the top of the fifth made it 5-3.
The NL took a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the fifth on a three-run homer by San Francisco left fielder Barry Bonds off Bartolo Colon of the Indians. Arizona center fielder Devon White, who had replaced Gwynn, tripled to open the inning and Cardinals' first baseman Mark McGwire drew a walk just in front of Bonds' blast.
Bonds and father Bobby joined Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr. as the second son-father tandem to homer in All-Star Game history.
But the American League took the lead for keeps with three runs in the top of the sixth, and it put the game away with three runs (one earned) in the top of the ninth off Rob Nen of the Giants.
Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius opened the ninth with a single, stole second and reached third when Brewers second baseman Fernando Vina fumbled the grounder of California's Darin Erstad for an error.
Chicago White Sox second baseman Ray Durham singled home Brosius, then stole second to put runners at second and third. Erstad scored on a sacrifice fly by Cleveland's Manny Ramirez and Baltimore first baseman Rafael Palmeiro singled home Durham.
Angels closer Troy Percival closed out the win. Despite giving up three runs, Colon was credited for the win.