Editor’s note: This summer the Cleveland Indians are hosting their sixth major league all-star game, which is the most by any franchise. This series will take a look at the previous contests in 1935, 1954, 1963, 1981 and 1997.
The 1981 season was unique in many ways.
A player’s strike from June 12 to July 31 led to some strange happenings.
The first division series were added to the post-season, which didn’t feature the Cincinnati Reds that had the best overall record in the majors. The division winners from each half established the post-season participants.
The second half of the season opened with the all-game game in Cleveland on Aug. 9. It was the second all-star game to take place in August. The second affair of 1959 took place on Aug. 3.
How would the fans react? That question was answered when 72,086 fans showed up to set a new attendance record for the mid-summer classic, which still stands.
Gary Carter of the Montreal Expos, who led the National League to a 5-4 win, would be named the Most Valuable Player as he blasted a pair of homers to become the fifth and most recent to accomplish that feat.
The starting pitchers were rookie Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL and Jack Morris of the Detroit Tigers for the American League. Valenzuela would only work one frame and Morris would go two.
In the bottom of the second, Ken Singleton got the scoring underway with a solo homer off Tom Seaver of the Reds.
Carter’s first long ball tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth as he tagged Ken Forsch of the California Angels.
Dave Parker of the Pittsburgh Pirates drilled a homer off Oakland’s Mike Norris to put the NL in front 2-1.
The lead didn’t last as the AL scored three times in the sixth off Burt Hooton of the Dodgers.
Boston’s Fred Lynn had a RBI single to tie the contest before former Indian Buddy Bell of the Texas Rangers hit a sacrifice fly. Milwaukee’s Ted Simmons added a run-scoring single and the AL was on top 4-2.
Carter was at it again in the seventh with his second homer of the game, this time off Ron Davis of the New York Yankees.
Philadelphia’s Mike Schmidt ended the home run parade in the eighth with a two-run blast off Milwaukee’s Rollie Fingers that put the NL in the lead for good.
Vida Blue of the Giants got the win, while Bruce Sutter of the St. Louis Cardinals earned the save. Fingers suffered the loss.
The Indians
Cleveland had two representatives on the AL roster with Len Barker and Bo Diaz both appearing in the game.
Barker was faced just six batters in two innings of work in the third and fourth. That performance followed Barker’s 3-0 perfect game against Toronto on May 15. He ended the season 8-7 and led the AL in strikeouts for the second year in a row as he made his only all-star appearance
Diaz entered the game in the seventh for Boston’s Carlton Fisk and was fanned by Blue.
For Diaz, it was his first of two times in the all-star game as he was selected as a member of the Reds in 1987. He had seven homers and 38 RBI with a .313 batting average in 1981.
Two Home Runs in an All-Star Game
Arky Vaughan, Pittsburgh Pirates (1941)
Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox (1946)
Al Rosen, Cleveland Indians (1954)
Willie McCovey, San Francisco Giants (1969)
Gary Carter, Montreal Expos (1981)