MLB All-Star Game 2015: 5 most memorable All-Star Game performances
By Will Osgood
Reggie Jackson’s blast in 1971 almost leaves Tiger Stadium entirely
Here’s another instance where it seems one swing, one second, basically, made a player’s All-Star Game performance stand above the rest.
And it is largely true. Jackson did not start the 1971 All-Star Game, but pinch hit for pitcher (yes, pitcher, there was no DH at that point in time) Vida Blue in the bottom of the third inning after another future Hall of Famer Rod Carew walked.
The result, a gargantuan home run, which would probably still be flying if the pesky light posts at old Tiger Stadium hadn’t gotten in the way, is certainly the most memorable home run in All-Star Game history.
This game, as much as anything, propelled Jackson to new heights–he was at the time just coming into superstardom. As the story goes, he would later, in 1984, hit the ball all the way over the light posts and out of Tiger Stadium, something only a handful of hitters ever did. No one else neared the feat in an All-Star Game though.
Because of the way baseball is played, one game or one play is enough to catapult a player into legendary status. Jackson of course would go on to have even greater moments than this. But this was one heck of a start.
Next: Pitcher did something Pedro did many, many years before