Rose rocking Fosse ranks at top for Matheny

MIAMI -- Mike Matheny never played in an All-Star Game during his 13-year big league career. Still, the Cardinals manager has some fond memories of the Midsummer Classic.

Matheny's favorite All-Star moment, oddly enough, occurred just months before he was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970.

Growing up in Reynoldsburg, a suburb of Columbus, Matheny was a Reds fan. One of the indelible baseball images he would see replays of as a kid was Reds great Pete Rose plowing through Indians catcher Ray Fosse in the bottom of the 12th inning during the 1970 All-Star Game -- two months and eight days before Matheny was born.

"Growing up, I was a Pete Rose fan and watching the Big Red Machine," Matheny said. "That one sticks out more than any other."

The 1970 All-Star Game took place in Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, less than two weeks after the Reds' new home opened. The game went to extra innings after the National League rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the ninth, capped by Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente's pinch-hit sacrifice fly to score Astros second baseman Joe Morgan from third to tie the game at 4.

After both teams put zeroes on the board in the 10th and 11th innings, the NL came to bat in the bottom of the 12th. With two outs, Rose and Dodgers third baseman Billy Grabarkewitz hit back-to-back singles to put runners on second and third.

Cubs first baseman Jim Hickman hit a single to center field, and Rose took off for home. Amos Otis fired the ball home as Rose rounded third. Fosse gathered and braced for the tag, Rose lowered his left shoulder, barreling through Fosse and knocking the ball loose as he tumbled across home plate.

The collision left Fosse with a separated shoulder, and left Rose and the NL All-Stars with a walk-off win.

Forty-two years later, the play still stands out to Matheny.

"That's one that has kind of stuck in the history books," Matheny said. "It's one that everybody remembers."

The 2012 All-Star Game will be played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday, July 10. Come to MLB.com for extensive online coverage of the All-Star Week festivities.

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