On This Date in Sports July 10, 2001: All-Star Groove
Playing in his final All-Star Game, Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles wins his second All-Star MVP as the American League beats the National League 4-1 at Safeco Field in Seattle. Ripken hits a third-inning home run off Chan Ho Park of the Los Angeles Dodgers that the pitcher confessed was a grooved pitch for the retiring future Hall of Fame to hit out of the park.
It was an All-Star season in the Pacific Northwest, as the Seattle Mariners were setting MLB on fire, as they were on the way to a record 116 wins, led by Japan's Ichiro Suzuki, who, in his MLB first season, became the second player to win MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Ichiro was also the leading vote-getter in the All-Star Game and led off for the American League. National League manager Bobby Valentine of the New York Mets got special permission to name Tom Lasorda as his third base coach, the Hall of Fame manager would take a scary tumble during the game. Valentine named former Mariner Randy Johnson, who was with the Arizona Diamondbacks, as his starter on the mound. Joe Torre chose his ace on the New York Yankees, Roger Clemens, to start for the American League.
The 2001 All-Star Game was the final for Cal Ripken Jr., who was voted a starter at third base, and the last for Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres, both of whom announced they would retire at season's end. When the game began, Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers, playing shortstop, switched positions with Ripken, allowing the future Hall of Famer to play one last All-Star Game at the position he played most of his career. Gwynn, meanwhile, was unable to play due to an injury.
Both starting pitchers were strong, as no runs were scored in the first two innings. Freddy Garcia of the Mariners pitched a perfect inning in the third, while Chan Ho Park of the Dodgers took the hill in the bottom of the third. Park threw a batting practice fastball to Cal Ripken, which was hit into the leftfield bullpen after a long standing-ovation.
The 4-1 lead would stand for the rest of the game as the American League continued its recent dominance of the mid-summer classic. Kazuhiro Saski of the Mariners would finish the game by getting Cliff Floyd of the Florida Marlins to ground out to first.