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We've seen All-Star hits by Yankees at Yankee Stadium. We've seen All-Star hits by Tigers at Tiger Stadium. But on Tuesday night, we witnessed a true slice of All-Star history -- the first hit ever in an All-Star Game by a player with the same name as the ballpark. The historic hit: by Damian Miller, at Miller Park (actually, he had two). Congratulations there, Damian. No wonder Bob Brenly picked him.
Had the National League lost Tuesday night, it would have been the first team to blow a lead of four runs or more in losing an All-Star Game since 1955. That year, the AL led 5-0 after six innings but lost, 6-5, in 12. The game-winner: a Stan Musial home run off Frank Sullivan -- one of three extra-inning home runs in All-Star history.
A little All-Star trivia: Can you name the three members of this year's All-Star team who were once traded in Gary Sheffield deals?
And the answer is ... (ta-daaaa) Mike Piazza, Odalis Perez and Trevor Hoffman.
OK, one more time, only a little tougher: Can you name the two members of this year's All-Star team once traded for Heathcliff Slocumb?
The answer: Derek Lowe and Jose Hernandez.
What's the best definition of an even trade? When two guys traded for each other both wind up on the All-Star team. Here are the two sets of trade partners who could make that claim on this year's All-Star teams:
Randy Johnson and Freddy Garcia
Curt Schilling and Vicente Padilla
Schilling has now pitched six innings in All-Star Games -- and struck out nine.
Kazuhiro Sasaki gave up two earned runs to the NL All-Star team in one inning Tuesday. He has given up five earned runs against his own league all season -- in 33 innings.
Sammy Sosa has made seven All-Star teams. It took him until this one to get his first hit -- a single off Lowe. Sosa is now 1-for-11 lifetime in All-Star Games. His average in Home Run Derbies is slightly higher.
When the National League took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, it was their first lead of more than one run since the third inning of the 1998 game -- 36 All-Star innings ago.
When the NL then went up 4-0 on Barry Bonds' two-run homer four pitches later, it was their first lead of more than two runs since they won the 1996 game in Philadelphia, 6-0 (also their last win before 2002).
Eric Gagne hadn't given up a home run since May 29. But he gave one up in the All-Star Game on his second pitch, to Alfonso Soriano. And Roy Halladay had allowed only five home runs to 958 hitters over the last two seasons -- fewest of any starting pitcher in either league. But he, too, gave one up -- to Barry Bonds.
One of the great stories in this All-Star Game is the appearance of both Benito Santiago and Robin Ventura on the All-Star team for the first time in 10 years. Only seven other players have ever been All-Stars 10 or more years apart, according to the Elias Sports Bureau:
Bert Blyleven 1973-1985 -- 12 years
Schoolboy Rowe 1936-47 -- 11 years
Rick Reuschel 1977-87 -- 10 years
Rick Rhoden 1976-86 -- 10 years
Darrell Evans 1973-83 -- 10 years
Tommy John 1968-78 -- 10 years
Rick Monday 1968-78 -- 10 years
Jimmy Rollins became only the second Phillies shortstop ever elected to start an All-Star Game. The other was his manager, Larry Bowa. But Rollins already has reached base as many times in the All-Star Game (three) at age 22 as Bowa did in five All-Star Games. Bowa was 2-for-8, with a walk. Rollins walked in last year's game in Seattle, and went 2-for-2 this year.
The Sultan of Swat Stats, SABR's David Vincent, is also a font of useless All-Star birthday information. So we bet you didn't know that, according to the Sultan, this is the third straight year two American League All-Stars were born on the same day. And that's six different players:
2002 -- A-Rod and Shea Hillenbrand
2001 -- Andy Pettitte and Tony Clark
2000 -- Jermaine Dye and Magglio Ordonez
Before you finish singing Happy Birthday, here are all the All-Star teammates who were born on the same day:
1947 -- Ted Williams and Billy Johnson
1941-42-44-47 -- Bob Elliott and Eddie Miller
1953 -- Phil Rizzuto and Johnny Sain
1977 -- Jason Thompson and Willie Randolph
1975-77 -- Don Sutton and Reggie Smith
1994 -- Craig Biggio and Ken Hill
1994 -- Greg Maddux and David Justice
1996 -- Dan Wilson and Travis Fryman
1997 -- Edgar Martinez and David Cone
1998-2000 -- Ray Durham, Ivan Rodriguez
This year's leading vote-getter, Ichiro Suzuki, got 2,516,016 votes. That means he collected more votes by himself than all the players on the ballot from 13 entire teams. Booth Newspapers' Danny Knobler counted all those votes. And here they are, every darned one of them:
American League
Seattle 7,625,612
Yankees 7,472,319
Boston 5,447,608
Minnesota 4,971,020
Texas 4,127,477
Chicago 2,707,997
Cleveland 2,289,596
Oakland 2,279,535
Anaheim 2,250,682
Kansas City 1,722,302
Toronto 1,535,524
Tampa Bay 1,496,534
Baltimore 1,425,920
Detroit 688,367
National League
San Francisco 5,660,133
Montreal 4,665,127
New York 4,572,470
Chicago 3,612,539
St. Louis 3,325,762
Arizona 3,086,759
Colorado 2,933,498
Atlanta 2,728,860
Philadelphia 2,670,027
Houston 2,619,824
Milwaukee 2,539,210
Los Angeles 2,433,721
Florida 2,396,923
Cincinnati 2,346,924
Pittsburgh 1,707,425
San Diego 934,841
And finally, this mind-boggling note, from the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes: The 10 Yankee pitchers with the biggest contracts will make a combined $57.3 million this year. The 10 pitchers on the AL All-Star team, including Pedro Martinez (who declined his invitation), will make $47.5 million. That counts Mariano Rivera's presence on both teams.
Here. See for yourself:
Yankees
Mike Mussina $11,000,000
Roger Clemens $10,300,000
Andy Pettitte $9,500,000
Mariano Rivera $9,450,000
Sterling Hitchcock $4,936,719,br>
Steve Karsay $4,000,000
Orlando Hernandez $3,200,000
Mike Stanton $2,500,000
Jeff Weaver $2,350,000
David Wells $2,250,000
Total: $59,486,719
AL All-Stars
Pedro Martinez $14,000,000
Mariano Rivera $9,450,000
Ugueth Urbina $6,700,000
Kazuhiro Sasaki $5,070,000
Freddy Garcia $3,800,000
Derek Lowe $3,125,000
Roy Halladay $2,583,333
Eddie Guardado $1,800,000
Mark Buehrle $310,000
Barry Zito $295,000
Total: $47,133,333
Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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