On
July 8, 1997, the sixty-eighth annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game was
played. The game took place at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio and
hometown hero, catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., was named the game’s Most Valuable
Player. Alomar Jr. is the only player to win an All-Star game MVP and have his
brother win the All-Star Game MVP the next year, as Roberto Alomar did in the
1998 All-Star game.
The
American League went on to win the game by a score of 3-1 in one of the lowest
scoring games in All-Star game history. Edgar Martinez of the Seattle
Mariners opened the scoring with a solo home run in the third inning. The
game remained 1-0 until the seventh inning, when Javy Lopez of the Atlanta
Braves tied it with a solo shot of his own. However, in the bottom half
of the inning Sandy Alomar Jr. would hit the game winning home run, a two-run
shot off San Francisco Giants pitcher Shawn Estes.
Sandy
Alomar Jr. became the first player to be named All-Star Game MVP while playing
in his home stadium. MLB CEO Paul Beeston awarded Alomar with the trophy,
as the MLB commissioner position was vacant at the time.
Alomar
Jr. put together a solid career in MLB playing 20 seasons, earning the 1990 AL
Rookie of the Year and also earning the 1990 American League Gold Glove for
catchers, and being selected to six All-Star games between 1990 and 1998. He
finished his career with a .274 batting average, 112 home runs and 588 RBI’s.
In
2008, Alomar Jr. began his coaching career starting with the New York Mets
acting as the catching instructor. He filled that role in 2008 and 2009. After
the 2009 season Manny Acta the Indians manager hired Alomar Jr. to be the teams
first base coach. He filled that role during the 2010 and 2011 season. After
the completion of the 2011 season Alomar Jr. was promoted to being the Indians
bench coach, the position he currently resides in.
Alomar Jr. was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of
Fame in August of 2009.
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