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

1. 2001: Farewell to a Legend

The purpose of the All-Star Game is to honor the best players in baseball that season. The purpose of the 2001 All-Star Game was to honor Cal Ripken Jr., the legendary shortstop/third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles. The stage was set for the “Iron Man,” and he did not disappoint.

The game was played at Safeco Field, which is the home of the Seattle Mariners. The game was Ripken’s 19th and final All-Star Game, as he planned to retire after the season. San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn would also be making his final appearance, as the game had a feeling of a changing of the guard in Major League Baseball.

Nowhere was that evident than at the beginning of the game, when American League shortstop Alex Rodriguez went out to his position, and decided to make a defensive change. Rodriguez had grown up idolizing Ripken, and it was his idea to make sure his idol’s final All-Star Game had him at shortstop. Ripken had been voted in as the team’s starting third baseman, though he appeared in 14 classics as the AL representative at shortstop.

The move enabled Ripken to play in a record 15th game as the AL shortstop, but that would only be the beginning to his memorable night. In the third inning, Ripken blasted a home run to left 0field, giving the AL squad a 1-0 lead. The team would go on to win 4-1, and Ripken was named the game’s MVP.

By earning MVP honors, Ripken became the fourth player in history to win multiple All-Star Game MVP awards. The legacy he left in baseball cannot be matched, and the memory of this All-Star Game cannot be matched either.

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