BOSTON – Tears filled the eyes of Ted Williams, the beloved old ballplayer throwing out the first pitch at the beloved old ballpark.
Willie Mays and Hank Aaron stood on the field. So did Stan Musial and Bob Gibson. Mike Schmidt and Harmon Killebrew. Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal. Frank and Brooks Robinson. Ernie Banks and Ozzie Smith. Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson. Bob Feller and Tom Seaver.
The awed modern All-Stars, guys whose every steps are mobbed themselves, circled Ted Williams. Ken Griffey Jr. and Cal Ripken Jr., Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, Derek Jeter and Mike Piazza.
They all seemed to appreciate the importance of the men who came before them, the men who stood on the diamond before the AL beat the NL 4-1 at Fenway Park last night in the 70th All-Star Game.
Then they played the game and the night belonged to the same person who has owned the season.
This, more than any in the history of baseball, has been the year of the hitter.
So much so that Schmidt, considered by many the greatest third baseman in history, predicted he one day will look back on his numbers with cause to feel shame.
“I’d hit 35 home runs and drive in 110 runs and I’d be an MVP candidate,” Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt said. “With those numbers today I’d be a No. 8 hole hitter. … When I’m 70, 80 years old I’m going to be ashamed to admit I’m in that pitiful little 500-home run club when there are 30 guys in the 800-home run club.”
Indeed, the National League lineup was so stacked Mike Piazza hit seventh and the starters averaged nearly 24 home runs at the break.
None of that mattered whatsoever when the most dominant performer in the game held the baseball in his right hand.
Pedro Martinez became the first player in All-Star history to strike out the first four batters. Sprinkling in changeups and wicked breaking pitches around his fastball, Martinez struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sosa and McGwire.
The first pitch to Sosa had such a sharp break to it Sosa’s knees buckled the way a Little League hitter’s do when he sees the first genuine curveball work its magic.
Martinez came to the mound jacked up by more than just the jets that flew overhead with such a roar everyone from players to the 34,187 in the seats was jolted.
He was pumped up by more than pitching in front of the home crowd.
“I was really excited, but it wasn’t really for the fans’ reaction or anything like that,” Martinez said. “It was just to see so many glories of baseball all together at one time. … It was great to see all those people out there, people that you dreamed of and people that you just saw on television.”
The roar of the jets, Martinez said, was the first of two times he thought Fenway was going to crumble. The other came when Williams, whose No. 9 was embossed in dark green in center field, received an ovation from the crowd.
“That was really amazing,” Martinez said of the ovation for The Splendid Splinter. “And I expected it. I expected it. It didn’t take me by surprise to just see the people out there roaring, trying to just step on the field and probably get a piece of him. I don’t think there will be any other man who’s going to replace him.”
The old-timers were happy to see Martinez become the one to dominate the game.
Tom Seaver was impressed when Martinez spotted him in a crowd, excused himself from a conversation he was having, and sought out the Hall of Fame pitcher to shake his hand.
“He gets it,” Seaver said. “He understands the game is not about him. It’s about the people before him and the people who will follow him. He gets it.”
And he brings it.
“Just be thankful you don’t have to face him,” McGwire told Nomar Garciaparra.
“I am,” Garciaparra responded.
Before the game, Williams had a question for McGwire.
“He wanted to know when I foul a ball off do I smell burnt wood and I said I do, every time,” McGwire said. “And you do. … Talking to him was the biggest thrill of the night. I’m just happy he knows who I am and he talked to me. When you see Ted Williams has tears running down his eyes it’s quite a moment. What a man. He’s loved in Boston and he’s loved all over baseball.”
The night was done so right by baseball that Walker, perennial National League MVP candidate, grabbed a hunk of the sod in right field, tore it from the ground and said he plans to keep it forever.
“I struck out at Fenway Park and hit a come-backer to the mound and I’m pretty proud of it,” Walker said. “I got my grass.”
And baseball got an A+ grade for its final All-Star Game of the 20th century.