Awful Phillies All-Star Game Moments of Awfulness

Phillies All-Star Game

When the Phillies learned that they would be hosting the 1996 MLB All-Star Game, the club looked like it was on its way to some great things -- it was September 1993, the Phillies were on their way to a National League East Championship (and eventually a league pennant), the fanbase was whipped into a frenzy over the lovable "Macho Row" heroes who made baseball relevant after 10 years spent mostly in the second division.

But, as Yeats says, things fall apart, especially when those "things" are mid-level starting pitchers given ridiculous workloads by a masochistic manager, reckless, hard-living star players, and a front office that was convinced that its lightning-in-a-bottle success in 1993 could be sustained.

The 1996 Phillies would stumble into the All-Star Break with a 37-49 record, thanks in large part to a dreadful 6-21 record in June. National League Manager Bobby Cox selected just one Phillie to represent the host team -- relief pitcher Ricky Bottalico. And really, he may have been the most deserving. Add in the fact that Veterans Stadium was and would remain one of the game's true hellholes, and you have a truly embarrassing host city situation.  Other incredibly lame factors: A U.S. National Anthem sung by Frasier star Kelsey Grammer; Canadian National Anthem presented by Sarah McLachlan I hate you so much for showing those sad puppies on TV; and vile former Phillie and U.S. Senator Jim Bunning taking part in the first pitch ceremonies.  Click here to view the broadcast opening, if the sanctimonious twit Bob Costas is what you crave.

Bottalico would pitch a scoreless fifth inning en route to a 6-0 National League victory, the National League's last win until their 2010 triumph.

The game's real star, though, was Mike Piazza, Phoenixville native and Dodgers representative. Piazza smashed a huge home run into Veteran Stadium's upper deck in the second inning off Charles Nagy. Seeing the hometown kid rub it in the city's face was a truly upsetting thing, and was a harbinger of things to come once the catcher would join the Mets later in the decade.

The Phillies have not hosted the Midsummer Classic since, and you have to figure they'll have to wait a least a few more years until its their turn again, despite a new ballpark and a thriving baseball scene. Of course, the way these things go, we'll be back in the dumps, young reliever Trevor May will be the sole representative of the Phillies, and local boy Mike Trout will really make the city look on with longing. Negadelphianism dies hard.

1959 All-Star Game: Don Drysdale Starts In L.A.

1959 All-Star Game: Don Drysdale Starts In L.A.

Today's Dodgers All-Star memory brings us back to 1959. It was the Dodgers' second year in Los Angeles, and they were hosting the All-Star Game. Well, the second one anyway. As you may remember from the Maury Wills post from earlier this week, MLB held two All-Star Games from 1959 to 1962 as a way to raise money for the players pension fund. The first game was on July 7 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, but the baseball world descended upon the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 3.

At the time of the second All-Star Game in 1959, the Dodgers were 60-47, a fine turnaround from their seventh place finish the season before. They were a half-game behind the Giants for first place, and would battle down to the wire with the Braves, who were just a game out at the time. Don Drysdale in 1959 was a few months younger than Clayton Kershaw is this year, and was 14-6 with a 2.89 ERA at the time of the All-Star Game in LA. Drysdale, who started the first All-Star Game in Pittsburgh a month earlier, also started in his home park.

Wally Moon of the Dodgers started as well, batting seventh and playing left field. He went 0-for-2 with two walks. Jim Gilliam was also named to the team, for the second time in his career, and he hit a home run in the seventh inning off Billy O'Dell. The other Dodgers home All-Star was Charlie Neal, who went 0-for-1, saving his heroics for the World Series later that year, when he hit .370 with two doubles and two home runs in the Dodgers' six-game win over the White Sox.

As for Drysdale, he didn't allow a hit in his three scoreless innings in the Pittsburgh All-Star game in July, but he didn't fare as well in the Coliseum. Drysdale had five strikeouts in his three innings, one more than he had in Pittsburgh, but he also allowed three runs. Frank Malzone hit a solo home run in the second inning, and Yogi Berra knocked in Nellie Fox with a two-run shot in the third inning. The American League went on to win 5-3, and Drysdale got hung with the loss.

Drysdale would go on to pitch in nine All-Star games in his career, including five starts, tied with Lefty Grove and Robin Roberts for the most ever. Drysdale's 19 strikeouts and 19 1/3 innings pitched are the most in All-Star history by anyone.