2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

As with each All-Star Game since 1970, the eight starting position players (with no designated hitter due to playing in an NL stadium) of each league were elected by fan balloting. The remaining players were selected by a players' vote, each league's team manager, and a second fan balloting to add one more player to each roster. In all, 32 players were selected to each league's team, not including players who decline to play due to injuries or personal reasons. The Giants were awarded the game on February 9, 2005. The game marked the first time since 1962 that one league hosted consecutive All-Star Games, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, hosted the game in 2006. The game was the fifth straight All-Star Game to decide home-field advantage in the World Series. The AL entered the game on a ten-game unbeaten streak (nine wins, with one tie in 2002). The NL was looking for their first win since the 1996 game in Philadelphia. ==Fan balloting==

Starters Balloting for the 2007 All-Star Game starters (excluding pitchers) began on April 27 and continued through June 28. The top vote-getters at each position and the top three among outfielders are named the starters for their respective leagues. The results were announced on July 1. About 18.5 million votes were cast by close to 12 million fans. This round lasted until July 5. Chris Young and Hideki Okajima were elected to represent the National League and American League, respectively, in the All-Star Game as first time All-Stars. All ten players included in the balloting were pitchers, a first for the event. ==Rosters==

Players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. American League National League These players did not see action in the game. Voted onto the roster through the All-Star Final Vote. Unable to play due to injury. Brandon Webb took his roster spot. Unable to play due to injury. Roy Oswalt took his roster spot. ==Managers==

National League: Tony La Russa American League: Jim Leyland ==Game==

O Canada was played by members of the San Francisco Symphony. The Star-Spangled Banner was sung by Chris Isaak. Before the game, there was a tribute to former San Francisco Giants slugger Willie Mays. Mays threw the ceremonial first pitch to New York Mets shortstop José Reyes. Paula Cole sang God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch. The first pitch was thrown by the National League's starter, Jake Peavy at 8:54 EDT Umpires Umpires for the game were announced on June 14. Bruce Froemming, the most tenured current umpire in Major League Baseball, was named crew chief for the game. It was also revealed that day that Froemming would retire following the 2007 season. Starting lineups Game summary (batter) vs Dan Haren (pitcher) The National League got things started in the bottom of the first when José Reyes led off with a base hit off American League starter Dan Haren and proceeded to steal second. He scored on an RBI single by Ken Griffey Jr. to give the NL a 1–0 lead. The homer gave the AL a 2–1 lead and resulted in Ichiro's MVP win. The lead would be augmented in the sixth when Carl Crawford hit a line drive that just cleared the right field wall for a home run. The NL got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Carlos Beltrán led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Griffey. La Russa elected not to pinch-hit his last player on the bench, Albert Pujols, and instead let Aaron Rowand hit. Rowand lofted a fly ball to right field that was caught by Alex Ríos to close the game, earning the American League their tenth consecutive victory. ==Home Run Derby==

The State Farm Home Run Derby was held the night before the All-Star Game, July 9, and broadcast on ESPN. Four players from each league competed to hit as many home runs as they could in each round to advance and eventually win the contest. This year, a five-swing swing-off would be used to break ties occurring in any round. This became necessary when Albert Pujols and Justin Morneau tied for fourth in the first round. The champion of last year's Derby, Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies, competed even though he was not named to the NL All-Star roster. In the finals, Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim defeated Alex Ríos of the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 3–2. Guerrero hit 17 home runs in all, second only to Ríos' 19. Guerrero also hit the longest blast of the competition, a drive to left field that just missed hitting a giant replica glove and baseball set up on the concourse beyond the left field bleachers. AT&T Park is distinguished by having the San Francisco Bay beyond its right field bleachers. The body of water located adjacent to the ballpark is known as McCovey Cove, named for legendary Giants slugger Willie McCovey. McCovey Cove is known for having many fans sitting in the water in kayaks and boats hoping to retrieve a long home run ball hit there. Though dozens of fans waited in the cove during the Derby, no home runs were actually hit into the water, either on the fly or off the promenade next to the right field seats, though, two foul balls hit by Justin Morneau and Prince Fielder did reach the water. This was largely due to the three left-handed competitors all exiting in the first round, as well as wind currents blowing toward left field. Prior to the All-Star break, a total of 58 home runs were hit into the cove on the fly during the park's history. Gold balls were utilized whenever any player had one out remaining during his round. Any home runs hit with the balls meant Major League Baseball and State Farm would pledge to donate money to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Due to the change in sponsors from Century 21 to State Farm, each ball's value was reduced to US$17,000 to reflect the 17,000 State Farm agents in the United States and Canada. Recorded only seven of ten outs before hitting winning home run. Advanced after defeating Morneau 2–1 in a swing-off. ==Futures Game==

The 2007 XM All-Star Futures Game took place on July 8, showcasing the top minor league prospects from all thirty teams' farm systems. The contest is seven innings regardless of the score with pitchers limited to no more than one inning of work. The World team defeated the United States by a score of 7–2. Chin-Lung Hu of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization won the Larry Doby MVP award after driving in two runs on a single and double, plus a stolen base and a run. ==Footnotes and references==