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An issue fit to be untied

Selig, managers defend calling All-Star Game at 7-7 but start considering ways to prevent it.

By KEVIN KELLY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 11, 2002

MILWAUKEE -- After he heard both sides -- the pleas of two concerned managers and the urgings of 41,817 chanting fans -- Bud Selig threw up his hands and made a decision Tuesday he may never live down.

With both All-Star teams out of players, and more importantly out of pitchers, at the All-Star Game at Miller Park, baseball's commissioner saw no other option than to end an otherwise memorable night by calling it a 7-7 final after 11 innings.

It marked the first All-Star Game to end in a tie since July 31, 1961.

"It was very painful," Selig said. "Believe me, I understand. I feel very badly about it. Frankly, I couldn't feel worse, but I also had no alternative."

Or did he?

Several alternatives were mentioned afterward: Expand the rosters from the current 30; hold a Home Run Derby for All-Star Games tied after nine innings; keep players in the game longer and forget about ensuring playing time for everyone.

"When you have players come to an All-Star Game, you want to get them in," AL manager Joe Torre said. "The downside is, if you get them all in and it's the ninth inning, the 10th inning and the 11th inning, well, you can't have it both ways.

"You can't have the people see the All-Stars and (not) understand that something like this can happen."

Torre and NL manager Bob Brenly used their allotment of 30 players each by the 10th inning. Nineteen were pitchers.

AL starter Derek Lowe and NL starter Curt Schilling pitched two innings. Philadelphia's Vicente Padilla and Seattle's Freddy Garcia pitched the 10th and 11th.

"The last thing I want to do is get a pitcher hurt and send Freddy Garcia back to (Mariners manager) Lou Piniella saying he can't pitch," Torre said. "That, to me, is the mortal sin of this whole thing."

Four pitchers logged two-thirds of an inning or less.

Arizona reliever Byung-Hyung Kim and Barry Zito pitched one-third of an inning. Zito, who started for the A's on Sunday, threw three pitches to one batter. Twins reliever Eddie Guardado and Braves reliever Mike Remlinger threw two-thirds of an inning each.

"These organizations, their managers entrust us with their players," Brenly said. "The last thing we want to do is send home a guy who is not going to be able to compete for the ballclub that's paying his salary and expecting him to go out there and perform for his home fans."

Selig said he would review expanding rosters to avoid another situation such as Tuesday's when, amid discussions about labor negotiations and steroids, the game appeared to give itself another black eye.

"I think we really do have to consider, if we are going to try and get everybody in the game, we need to have some more people on the roster," he said. "I think that's something we are going to have to consider."

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