1998 All-Star Game
Nineteen ninety-eight was considered the year of the homerun as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both set new standards by breaking the all-time single season home run record, the most revered record in all of sports. The All-Star Game didn't disappoint either and featured three home runs and a record twenty-one combined runs as the American League beat the National League 13-8. The American League had home runs from Seattle's Alex Rodriguez and Baltimore's Roberto Alomar and also stole five bases which set a new All-Star record. Although the American League dominated for most of the contest, the National League did surge back into the game in the fifth with a three-run homer from the Giants' Barry Bonds, giving the National League a 6-5 lead. Bonds joined his father, Bobby Bonds, as the second father-son combination to hit All-Star Game home runs (Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. are the others). Despite the National League's best efforts, the American League responded with a three-run rally in the top of sixth. Roberto Alomar collected three hits, homered once, stole a base and was named the All-Star Most Valuable Player exactly one year after his brother Sandy Alomar Jr. captured the family's first All-Star MVP trophy. The American League was hot and determined to close out the decade the same way they had opened it; as winners.
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