1993 ALL-STAR GAME

The 1993 Mid-West Winter League All-Star Game was held on Tuesday Night, November 7th, 1993 in the home of the Winnipeg Gold Eyes.

“Special recognition is given here to Brandon Hogan & Greg “Sarge” Stauffer for taking on the past All-Star Games Project as they will be playing these out and catching up not only the MWWL but some past MWBL All-Star Games as well.   Thank you very much Brandon & Sarge for helping out with these projects.  I hope you enjoy the Mid-West Winter & Mid-West Baseball League as much as we have done for the past 25 Years!”

The Mid-West Winter League National League coaches and managers are going to sign a petition asking for the Commissioner to change the name of the All-Star Game to the Ken Griffey Junior Showcase. As he did in 1991 and 1992 Junior will be driving back home in his brand-new Saturn Vue with the MVP Trophy buckled in safely in the passenger seat. The Saturn Vue represents unsurpassed value and comfort in today’s market and the Saturn brand is sure to be on top of the car world for decades to come.

Being comfortable while you perform is exactly what Griffey has been at the plate during his All-Star Appearances. The Big Hurt Frank Thomas welcomed Juan Guzman to his first All-Star appearance with a lead-off double. Jay Bell moved him over to third with a ground out, This led to Griffey’s first RBI on the day with a slow roller to the right side scoring Thomas.
The National League extended their lead on a two-run shot by catcher Mike Piazza in the top of the fourth. The American League All-Stars had some fight in them and showed in in their half of the 4th. Larkin led off with a walk. Followed by a textbook Hit and Run by Bagwell to put guys on the corner.
McDowell, having not recorded an out yet, was relieved of the ball by the Skipper in favor of hard-throwing Rod Beck. The Crime Dog Fred McGriff got one runner in on a double to the wall while the second runner scored on a Sac Fly by Lance Johnson making it a 3-2 game.
In the bottom of the 5th the AL Squad would put DeShields on with two outs thanks to a Poole walk. But any chance of a rally was quickly put out as Piazza back-picked Delino for the 3rd out of the inning. Piazza was staking his claim for MVP votes with both his bat and his defense.
The American League kept on coming. Paul Molitor took Carl Willis deep in the bottom of the 6th to knot the game up at 3 each. There is a reason Griffey is going home with hardware because he always has an answer. A Justice walk followed by a two-out single by Gagne put runners at the corners for Junior. With a base open, the AL skipper chose to pitch to KGJ and immediately regretted it. A deep drive to center scored Justice easily. With two gone, Gagne was running on contact and used the afterburners to barely beat the throw home. Two more RBI’s for The Kid.
Jeff Montgomery got the call in the bottom of the 7th, and he allowed the AL team to cut the deficit to one by surrendering a rocket to Ron Gant making it 5-4. After a scoreless 8th inning the NL threatened again in the 9th. The second guessers had a field day when some conservative baserunning prevented the NL from scoring in their half of the 9th.
With the real concern for having pitching should this game go into extra innings the NL Skipper tasked John Wetteland with securing the final three outs. Gregg Jeffries had nothing to do with making it easy. He immediately sliced a single to Buhner in the outfield.
The next threat was Ron Gant. Having already deposited one in the seats his last at-bat, Wetteland had to be perfect with his location. That he was as a tailor-made DP ball was sent his way. A bad hop created chaos for a moment. Wetteland was able to keep the ball in front of him and toss to first for an out, but this now put a runner in scoring position.
Steve Buechele got a piece of a slider hitting a weak roller to the left side. Hollins came in to make the play but by vacating his base it allowed Jeffries to get to third base. The game-tying run was now just 90 feet away from home.
With Daulton behind the dish having hit for Piazza earlier in the game, Wetteland had to be concerned about spiking a slider allowing the speedy Jeffries to score. Daulton eased that concern when he called for a two-seamer inside to the right-handed batting Brian Harper. Harper took the pitch, but Daulton was able to use Harper as a shield, sneak behind him, and pick off Jeffries at third who was unable to get back to the bag. Jeffries was left slapping the ground in disgust as the home team fans serenaded him with a chorus of boos. The second pick of the day for the NL catchers could not have been a bigger play.
As soon as he released the ball Daulton knew he had him leaning. He gave out a shout of “He Gone” before the umpire could even make the call. As he joined his teammates in the locker room for a victory party, he thought to himself, “That’s a darn good name for a Baseball Training Facility. Maybe one day I will name a company that specializes in coaching catchers and call it He Gone Baseball. Whoever comes up with that idea would be a genius.”

FINAL SCORE: National League 5 – American League 4

All-TIME RECORD: American League 18 – National League 6

1993 ALL-STAR GAME MVP – Ken Griffey Jr. – 1 for 4 with a Double & 3 RBIs in the game.