Derek Jeter became the first member of the New York Yankees to earn All-Star Game Most Valuable Player honors, going 3-for-3 with two RBI and overshadowing a strong performance by Atlanta's Chipper Jones as the American League All-Stars posted a 6-3 triumph over their National League counterparts.
"Taking into consideration all the great players that have been in the Yankee organization, you'd think in the past that one would win," Jeter said. "But if you're in a game like this, you have to be in the right place at the right time, and I was very fortunate. "In due time, when I sit down and get a chance to reflect on it, then you realize how special it is. And I wasn't aware that no Yankee, no other Yankee, had won this award, and it's kind of hard to believe."
Further frustrating the 51,323 in attendance at Turner Field, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera allowed a meaningless run in the ninth to preserve the AL's fourth straight victory in the series.
Since Turner Field opened in 1997, the Yankees are 6-2 here, including two World Series wins last year.
The 26-year-old Jeter, a cornerstone of the Yankees' three world championships over the last four years, had a pivotal two-run single off New York Mets lefthander Al Leiter in the fourth. It gave the AL a 3-1 lead which it never surrendered.
"We've been watching that ever since (Jeter) came to the big leagues," National League manager Bobby Cox said. "And somebody in the clubhouse asked me if he was getting better. He was just good when he first came up, so you know why he is here, he's an All-Star."
"Derek Jeter is a Yankee," said Yankees manager Joe Torre, who improved to 3-0 as head of the AL squad. "If there ever was a young kid that even the veteran players looked up to, it's Derek Jeter. So I think it's a very proud time for the New York Yankees, because their future did a good thing tonight."
Jeter's heroics offset a great night by fan favorite Jones, who also had three hits, including a homer in the third inning off James Baldwin of the Chicago White Sox, who ended up the winning pitcher. "It was awesome," Jones said. "I mean, it's every little boy's dream. I've said it so many times this week, it's not often that a player gets to play on his home field in an All-Star Game, much less start. To go out there and hit a home run, it was just awesome. I can't explain it. It was something I'll never forget."
Jeter hurt Leiter with a single in a two-run first inning on Friday night in the opener of the "Subway Series" and did so again tonight in a two-run fourth. Kansas City's Jermaine Dye led off with a walk and Cleveland's Travis Fryman lined a single past the glove of San Francisco's Jeff Kent at second.
Mike Sweeney, another first-time All-Star, bounced a potential double-play grounder to shortstop that Cincinnati's Barry Larkin booted to load the bases. Leiter got Cleveland's Roberto Alomar to pop out but Jeter looped a single into shallow left-center field for a 3-1 lead. "The cutter, he throws it every time I face him," Jeter said. "I try to lay off it. I didn't hit it well, I just hit it in the right place. He's a tough pitcher."
The NL got within 3-2 in the fifth and delighted the crowd in the process. Gary Sheffield opened the inning against Oakland closer Jason Isringhausen with a walk and one out later Jones singled to right field. Braves teammate Andruw Jones, in his first All-Star bat, singled softly into center field to slice the deficit in half.
Isringhausen preserved the lead by retiring Sammy Sosa on a fly to right and, after falling behind former teammate Edgardo Alfonzo, came back to retire the Mets second baseman on a foul popout.
Neither starter factored in the decision as Arizona's Randy Johnson, who pitched on Sunday, needed just eight pitches to get through a scoreless first inning. AL starter David Wells of Toronto allowed two hits over two innings in his second career All-Star start. "Pitching on Sunday, I didn't know how I was going to throw," Johnson said. "So you can go out there and throw eight pitches, and you have to be pretty pleased about that."
Preceding the game was a celebration of family as the All-Stars took their positions with their children. With wives along the third-base line, players were introduced with their children at their sides. The biggest ovation was reserved for hometown hero Andres Galarraga, who has overcome non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma to earn a spot on the All-Star team. Galarraga, named as a starter when St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire pulled out, was greeted with standing ovations when he was announced in the lineup and when he first came to the plate in the second inning. He wiped his eyes and tipped his cap to the crowd before hitting a rocket to left that was caught. Galarraga earned a final standing ovation after a one-out single in the fourth. He was pulled for pinch-runner Todd Helton and the crowd roared as he left the field. "No words can explain how happy, how excited I am today," said Galarraga. "That's a great moment in my career in baseball. Walking on to the field with my kids, and the ovation they gave to me, my fans here in Atlanta, that's a really special moment."
The AL used a three-run ninth against San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman to give Rivera some breathing room. Chicago's Ray Durham and Boston's Nomar Garciaparra opened the inning with singles and Minnesota's Matt Lawton grounded an RBI single to right through a drawn-in infield. Chicago's Magglio Ordonez lofted a sacrifice fly for a 5-2 lead before an error by Montreal second baseman Jose Vidro scored Lawton.
The NL countered with a run in the bottom of the ninth on Steve Finley's RBI single but Rivera induced St. Louis' Edgar Renteria to bounce into a game-ending double play.
Jeter got the first of his three hits in the opening inning, lining a double down the left-field line off Johnson. But the Arizona ace rebounded to retire Williams on a groundout and strike out Giambi.
Jones singled up the middle with one out in the first but Wells got Montreal's Vladimir Guerrero on a line drive to second before striking out Home Run Derby champion Sosa looking. "When you get ahead in the count you can throw anything," Wells said. "If you have command of your pitches, they can't sit on a certain pitch, and I had a good curveball working."
The AL pushed across a run in the third against Kevin Brown, taking advantage of a rare bout of wildness by the Dodgers' ace. Pinch-hitter Mike Bordick of Baltimore was retired on a long fly ball to center field that Jim Edmonds of St. Louis ran down. Alomar walked and Jeter singled before Williams' grounder forced Alomar at third. But Brown lost the plate, issuing consecutive free passes to Giambi and Boston's Carl Everett to force home a run. Brown had not issued a walk in his previous 3 2/3 All-Star innings before losing the plate tonight.
The NL got even in the bottom of the third on Jones' first career All-Star homer. Jones became the 33rd player to record three hits in an All-Star Game, one inning after Jeter became the 32nd player to accomplish the feat.
Leiter took the loss for the NL, which still holds a 40-30-1 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1933.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
AMERICAN LEAGUE 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 6 10 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 9 2
BATTERIES: AL - DAVID WELLS, JAMES BALDWIN (3RD), AARON SELE
(4TH), JASON ISRINGHAUSEN (5TH), DEREK LOWE
(6TH), TODD JONES (7TH), TIM HUDSON (8TH),
MARIANO RIVERA (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ, JORGE
POSADA (6TH)
NL - RANDY JOHNSON, DANNY GRAVES (2ND), KEVIN BROWN
(3RD), AL LEITER (4TH), TOM GLAVINE (5TH),
DARRYL KILE (6TH), BOB WICKMAN (8TH), TREVOR
HOFFMAN (9TH) AND JASON KENDALL, MIKE
LIEBERTHAL (5TH)
WP - JAMES BALDWIN
LP - AL LEITER
SAVE - NONE
HOME RUNS: AL - NONE
NL - CHIPPER JONES (1) OFF BALDWIN IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
GWRBI - MATT LAWTON
TIME: 2:56 ATT: 51,323
BOX SCORE
AL AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Alomar 2b 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 .000
Durham 2b 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .500
Jeter ss 3 1 3 2 0 0 0 1.000
Garciaparra ss 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .500
Williams cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000
Lawton cf 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 .500
Giambi 1b 2 0 0 0 1 2 3 .000
Sele p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Ordonez rf 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1.000
Everett lf 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 .000
Erstad lf 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 .000
I Rodriguez c 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 .333
Posada c 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000
Dye rf 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 .000
Isringhausen p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Lowe p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Mcgriff 1b 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000
Fryman 3b 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 .500
Glaus 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-Batista ph-3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Wells p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-Bordick ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Baldwin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Sweeney ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
Delgado 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000
T Jones p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
d-E Martinez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Hudson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 38 6 10 6 4 7 22 .263
a-flied to center for Wells in the 3rd; b-reached on error for
Baldwin in the 4th; c-struck out for Glaus in the 8th; d-lined
to center for T Jones in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - Jeter (1, Johnson); Delgado (1, Kile); Ordonez (1, Kile).
SF - Ordonez. RBI - Everett (1), Jeter 2 (2), Lawton (1), Ordonez (1),
Erstad (1). 2-out RBI - Everett. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Giambi 3, I Rodriguez 2, Garciaparra 1, Posada 1.
Team LOB - 10.
BASERUNNING: SB - Lawton (1, 2nd base off Hoffman/Lieberthal).
FIELDING: E - Garciaparra 2 (2, ground ball, throw).
DP: 1 (Garciaparra-Durham-Mcgriff).
NL AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Larkin ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Renteria ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
C Jones 3b 3 1 3 1 0 0 0 1.000
Cirillo 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Guerrero lf 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .500
Leiter p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Jones cf 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 .500
Sosa rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000
Kile p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Wickman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Vidro ph-2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Je Kent 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Alfonzo 2b 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000
Hoffman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Galarraga 1b 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .500
Helton pr-1b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Edmonds cf 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .500
Lieberthal c 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .500
Ja Kendall c 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000
Glavine p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Giles rf 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Johnson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Graves p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Brown p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-Hammonds ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Sheffield lf 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .000
S Finley lf 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1.000
Totals 36 3 9 3 1 4 13 .250
a-flied to right for Brown in the 3rd; b-popped to shortstop for
Wickman in the 8th.
BATTING: HR - C Jones (1, 3rd inning off Baldwin 0 on, 2 out).
RBI - C Jones (1), A Jones (1), S Finley (1). 2-out RBI - C Jones.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Alfonzo 1. GIDP - Renteria.
Team LOB - 7. GWRBI - Lawton.
FIELDING: E - Larkin (1, ground ball); Vidro (1, ground ball).
--------------------------------------------------
American League - 001 200 003 -- 6
National League - 001 010 001 -- 3
--------------------------------------------------
AL IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Wells 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Baldwin (W) 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 9.00
Sele 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Isringhausen 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 9.00
Lowe 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
T Jones 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Hudson 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Rivera 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0.00
NL IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Johnson 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Graves 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Brown 1 1 1 1 3 0 0 9.00
Leiter (L) 1 2 2 1 1 1 0 9.00
Glavine 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Kile 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Wickman 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Hoffman 1 3 3 3 0 2 0 27.00
Pitches-strikes: Johnson 8-7; Graves 14-11; Brown 33-18; Leiter
17-11; Glavine 11-6; Kile 34-23; Wickman 11-7; Hoffman 25-16;
Wells 27-23; Baldwin 17-10; Sele 12-7; Isringhausen 26-14; Lowe
7-6; T Jones 14-8; Hudson 13-8; Rivera 16-11. Ground balls-fly balls:
Johnson 2-0; Graves 0-2; Brown 1-2; Leiter 1-1; Glavine 1-1; Kile 4-2;
Wickman 0-2; Hoffman 0-1; Wells 1-3; Baldwin 0-3; Sele 2-1;
Isringhausen 0-3; Lowe 1-2; T Jones 1-1; Hudson 1-1; Rivera 3-0.
Batters faced: Johnson 4; Graves 4; Brown 7; Leiter 7; Glavine 3;
Kile 8; Wickman 3; Hoffman 7; Wells 8; Baldwin 5; Sele 4;
Isringhausen 6; Lowe 4; T Jones 3; Hudson 3; Rivera 4.
Game Log:
American League Starting Lineups -- Roberto Alomar 2B, Derek Jeter SS,
Bernie Williams CF, Jason Giambi 1B, Carl Everett LF, Ivan Rodriguez C,
Jermaine Dye RF, Travis Fryman 3B, David Wells LHP.
National League Starting Lineups -- Barry Larkin SS, Chipper Jones 3B,
Vladimir Guerrero LF, Sammy Sosa RF, Jeff Kent 2B, Andres Galarraga 1B,
Jim Edmonds CF, Jason Kendall C, Randy Johnson LHP.
Umpires -- Reilly (HP), M Hirschbeck (1B), Bell (2B), P Schrieber (3B),
Onora (LF), Diaz (RF).
Gametime Weather: 88 degrees, Overcast, wind left to right at 5 mph.
AL ALL STARS 1ST: Alomar grounded out to shortstop. Jeter doubled
to left. Williams grounded out to shortstop. Giambi struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 0, NL ALL STARS 0.
NL ALL STARS 1ST: Larkin popped out to first. C Jones singled
to center. Guerrero lined out to second. Sosa struck out looking.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 0, NL ALL STARS 0.
AL ALL STARS 2ND: Danny Graves relieved Randy Johnson. Everett
flied out to right center. I Rodriguez singled to right. Dye
flied out to shallow left. Fryman struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 0, NL ALL STARS 0.
NL ALL STARS 2ND: Je Kent grounded out to first. Galarraga lined
out to left. Edmonds singled to right. Ja Kendall struck out looking.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 0, NL ALL STARS 0.
AL ALL STARS 3RD: Kevin Brown relieved Danny Graves. Bordick hit
for Wells. Bordick flied out to deep left center. Alomar walked.
Jeter singled to center, Alomar to second. Williams grounded into
fielder's choice to third, Jeter to second, Alomar out at third.
Giambi walked, Jeter to third, Williams to second. Everett walked,
Jeter scored, Williams to third, Giambi to second. I Rodriguez lined
out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 1, NL ALL STARS 0.
NL ALL STARS 3RD: James Baldwin relieved David Wells. Hammonds
hit for Brown. Hammonds flied out to shallow right. Larkin popped
out to shallow right. C Jones homered to left center. Guerrero
singled to left. Sosa popped out to shallow right. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 1, NL ALL STARS 1.
AL ALL STARS 4TH: Al Leiter relieved Kevin Brown. Sheffield in left.
Dye walked. Fryman singled to right center, Dye to second. Sweeney
hit for Baldwin. Sweeney grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
Dye to third, Fryman safe at second on shortstop Larkin's fielding
error. Alomar popped out to first. Jeter singled to shallow center,
Dye and Fryman scored, Sweeney to second. Williams grounded out to
catcher, Sweeney to third, Jeter to second. Giambi struck out swinging.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) AL ALL STARS 3, NL ALL STARS 1.
NL ALL STARS 4TH: Aaron Sele relieved James Baldwin. Glaus at third.
Delgado at first. Je Kent grounded out to second. Galarraga singled
to center. Helton ran for Galarraga. Edmonds fouled out to third.
Ja Kendall grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
AL ALL STARS 3, NL ALL STARS 1.
AL ALL STARS 5TH: Tom Glavine relieved Al Leiter. Helton at first.
A Jones in center. Alfonzo at second. Lieberthal catching. Everett
grounded out to second. I Rodriguez flied out to right. Dye struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 3,
NL ALL STARS 1.
NL ALL STARS 5TH: Jason Isringhausen relieved Aaron Sele.
Durham at second. Garciaparra at short. Ordonez in right.
Erstad in left. Sheffield walked. Larkin fouled out to catcher.
C Jones singled to right, Sheffield to second. A Jones singled
to left center, Sheffield scored, C Jones to second. Sosa flied
out to right, C Jones to third. Alfonzo fouled out to first.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 3, NL ALL STARS 2.
AL ALL STARS 6TH: Darryl Kile relieved Tom Glavine. Renteria at short.
Cirillo at third. Giles in right. Glaus grounded out to shortstop.
Delgado doubled to deep right. Durham fouled out to third. Garciaparra
lined out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 3,
NL ALL STARS 2.
NL ALL STARS 6TH: Derek Lowe relieved Jason Isringhausen.
Lawton in center. Posada catching. Helton lined out to shortstop.
Lieberthal fouled out to third. Giles safe at first on shortstop
Garciaparra's fielding error. Sheffield grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) AL ALL STARS 3, NL ALL STARS 2.
AL ALL STARS 7TH: S Finley in left. Lawton grounded out to pitcher.
Ordonez doubled to deep right center. Erstad grounded out to
shortstop, Ordonez to third. Posada grounded out to third.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 3, NL ALL STARS 2.
NL ALL STARS 7TH: Todd Jones relieved Derek Lowe. Mcgriff at first.
Renteria grounded out to second. Cirillo fouled out to first.
A Jones struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
AL ALL STARS 3, NL ALL STARS 2.
AL ALL STARS 8TH: Bob Wickman relieved Darryl Kile. Mcgriff
fouled out to shallow left. Batista hit for Glaus. Batista
struck out swinging. E Martinez hit for T Jones. E Martinez
lined out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 3,
NL ALL STARS 2.
NL ALL STARS 8TH: Batista at third. Tim Hudson relieved Todd Jones.
Vidro hit for Wickman. Vidro popped out to shallow center. Alfonzo
struck out swinging. Helton grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) AL ALL STARS 3, NL ALL STARS 2.
AL ALL STARS 9TH: Vidro at second. Trevor Hoffman relieved Bob
Wickman. Durham singled to right. Garciaparra singled to left,
Durham to third. Lawton singled to right, Durham scored, Garciaparra
to third. Lawton stole second. Ordonez hit sacrifice fly to deep
center, Garciaparra scored, Lawton to third. Erstad safe at first
on 2nd baseman Vidro's fielding error, Lawton scored. Posada struck
out swinging. Mcgriff struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error)
AL ALL STARS 6, NL ALL STARS 2.
NL ALL STARS 9TH: Mariano Rivera relieved Tim Hudson. Lieberthal
reached on infield single. Lieberthal to second on shortstop
Garciaparra's throwing error. Giles grounded out to pitcher.
S Finley singled to shallow center, Lieberthal scored. Renteria
grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, S Finley
out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error)
FINAL SCORE: AMERICAN LEAGUE 6, NATIONAL LEAGUE 3.