In chronological order, starting with the opening ceremonies:
Pete Rose is honored
The all-time hits king, who’s been banned from baseball and its Hall of Fame for decades, who also holds nearly every Reds hitting record and is from Cincinnati, was honored as part of the team’s ‘Franchise Four,’ getting a standing ovation before the starting lineups.
Hit King & @Reds legend @PeteRose_14 walks out on the field at Great American Ball Park in front of his fans http://t.co/Lo2vuk81ZQ
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 14, 2015
Ryan Braun gets booed.
Busted for PEDs a couple years ago. Lied and told everyone he was clean. He got busted again.
Short story — he’s a liar. But still really good. Feel free to boo away.
Reds fans give it to the Cardinals
But the booing really got crazy when the Cincinnati fans ferociously booed every Cardinal on the field, starting with Yadier Molina.
You see the Cardinals and Reds kind of hate each other. It all stems from a brawl that erupted way back in 2010 that started when Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips kept tapping Molina’s shin guards with his bat before stepping up to the plate. Words were exchanged. Punches were thrown. Evidently 5 years isn’t long enough to heal.
By the way, the Cardinals, who never boo anyone, still boo Phillips when he comes to bat in St. Louis to this day.
Mike Trout starts off the game with a bang
Mike Trout jacks a lead off home run off Zack Greinke, who has the lowest ERA heading into the All-Star break since the mound was lowered in the late 60s. It’s the first lead-off HR in an All-Star game since Bo Jackson did it in ’89.
This is your MVP.
And that’s about it. Trout is the first person to win All-Star MVP back-to-back years.
The rest of the game? Meh.
The American League won 6-3.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
Photo Credit: Getty
