According to ESPN.com, the Wash/Fla game is the 28th time in MLB history that each team's lead-off batter hit a HR. They didn't list the last time it happened.
Here are a couple other stories that I thought were kind of interesting.
Quote:
Jose Canseco's All-Star pitching debut proved to be short.
The former major league star retired only one batter Tuesday night while giving up four runs in the first All-Star game in the independent Golden Baseball League.
"I feel great -- as good as ever," Canseco said.
Before his struggles on the mound, Canseco wowed the crowd of 3,111 with some titanic drives to win the home run derby.
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This story is interesting to me b/c Canseco made the All-Star team after playing only 10 games in his latest stint in the minors. And now the team says that they are considering using him as a pitcher in regular games. Ridiculous.
A better story, tho, is John "Buck" O'Neil. He's 94 years old and walked twice in the Northern League All-Star Game. He led off the top of the first with an intentional walk and was pulled for a pinch-runner. However, he was then immediately traded and therefore eligible to play for the other team in the All-Star Game. So he also led off the
bottom of the first. He was again intentionally walked, but didn't like it and took a swing at one of the pitches. The umpire got caught up in the moment, apparently, b/c it took 5 balls before O'Neil was awarded first base.
Quote:
Clad in a red-and-white Kansas City Monarchs jersey, O'Neil said he thought the last time he had swung a bat in a game was in 1955.
Asked if he remembered who he was facing in that last at-bat, he replied: "I don't remember yesterday, and you ask me who the pitcher was in 1955?"
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