Boston vs. New York

            The 2008 MLB All Star game was unforgettable for anybody who had enough endurance to watch the whole thing.. The American League defeated the National League 4-3 in an epic 15 inning battle. It was the first time since the game’s inception that the A.L. won an All-Star game that in extra innings. However, the A.L. victory was not so surprising since they have not lost in any of the previous 12 matchups (11-0-1 in the last 12). The A.L. gained home field in the World Series again but only 1 of the 6 players from Red Sox contributed towards an American League victory.

            Many of the Red Sox struggled in the mid-summer classic. Manny Ramirez was 0-2 and looked disinterested in the entire event, Youkilis was 0-2, Pedroia was 0-1 with a walk, and Varitek didn’t get an at bat (he didn’t really deserve an at bat anyway). Papelbon came in for the 8^th inning and gave up one hit, which led to a run thanks to a terrible throw to 2^nd base by the catcher, Dioner Navarro. With the bad comes the good though.  J.D. Drew, shined for the Red Sox and the A.L. Drew went 2-4 with 2 RBI including a game tying homerun in the 7^th inning.  With his team down 2-0, Drew connected off a fast ball from NL ERA leader Edinson Volquez and sent it soaring into the right field stands.  While the rest of the AL was having trouble hitting the stellar NL pitching squad, Drew came through with the biggest hit of the night.

            In the end, Drew brought home the All-Star MVP Award. He was well deserving of the award named after a former Red Sox player: Ted Williams. Drew’s first at bat in an All-Star game was that big homerun that brought the A.L. right back into the picture. He also had one other hit as well as a walk which meant he reached base three out of five times. He is the 4^th Sox player to win the award following in the footsteps of Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, and Carl Yastrzemski. Drew continued his successful season throughout the game and hopefully he will bring that momentum with him as the Red Sox battle to win the AL East once again.  

By: Corey Burns

Trackback URI | Comments RSS