MLB All-Star Game 2016: 5 most memorable All-Star Game performances

BOSTON, : American League starting pitcher Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox throws to the plate in the first inning of the 70th Baseball All-Star Game with the National League 13 July 1999 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.(ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO/Stephen JAFFE (Photo credit should read STEPHEN JAFFE/AFP/Getty Images) /

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7/23/1969-Washington-ORIGINAL CAPTION READS: Willie McCovey, Giants returns to the National League dugout and congratulations from teammates after hitting his second home run in the All-Star game 7/23. McCovey’s runs came in the 3rd and 4th innings. /

4. Willie McCovey goes deep twice

Just five players in All-Star Game history have hit multiple home runs in the same Midsummer Classic, which may come as a bit of a surprise given that all of the sport’s greatest power hitters made consistent appearances. McCovey became the fourth member of that exclusive group with a pair of blasts in the 1969 All-Star Game in a memorable showing.

By the 1969 season, McCovey was a decade into his outstanding career with the San Francisco Giants, earning plenty of accolades along the way. While McCovey had already appeared in the 1963, 1966 and 1968 Midsummer Classics, the 1969 contest at RFK Stadium was by far his best effort.

That regular season was McCovey’s best in the Majors by any measure, as he led the league with 45 home runs, 126 RBI, and a 1.108 OPS per FanGraphs. The Hall of Famer finished .28 behind Pete Rose in batting average to miss out on a Triple Crown bid and ran away with the NL MVP Award at the end of the year.

McCovey showed his tremendous power in the All-Star Game that July with one of the top individual performances in history. With Hank Aaron aboard in the top of the third, McCovey delivered a blast to center before homering to right off of Denny McLain the next inning to finish 2-4 with 3 RBI.

Since McCovey’s memorable performance, only Gary Carter has gone deep twice in the same All-Star Game.

Next: 3. Pedro Martinez mows down the NL

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