The unlikeliest of All-Stars, a player with less time than his backup, had the biggest performance of any player there in his All-Star debut. The Oakland A's catcher Terry Steinbach homered and hit a sacrifice fly, lifting the American League to victory. Steinbach led off the third inning with a homer against Dwight Gooden. The liner just eluded Darryl Strawberry, who said the ball popped out of his glove as he tried to pull it back over the fence.
The homer put Steinbach into the annals of baseball trivia: He's the only player to hit a home run in both his first at-bat in the majors and in his first at-bat in an All-Star Game. His next hit was even more crucial. The American League loaded the bases against Bob Knepper on a double by Dave Winfield, a walk to Cal Ripken, Jr. and a short single by Mark McGwire. Steinbach followed with a towering fly to left that came within ten feet of becoming the second grand slam in All-Star history.
Frank Viola set the tempo for American League pitchers by retiring all six batters he faced. The National League managed only five singles off the seven hitters who followed him: Roger Clemens, Mark Gubicza, Dave Stieb, Jeff Russell, Doug Jones, Dan Plesac and Dennis Eckersley.
It was an amazing performance by an individual, but also a great effort by Steinbach's team to ensure another victory. Many fans and the league were pleased as the National and American League traded the last four All-Star victories breaking the monotony of the previous decades of dominance by one side or the other.
1988 All-Star Game #1 Official Program
The 1988 Midsummer Classic At-A-Glance
Game Number
59
Date / Box Score
Location
Riverfront Stadium
Attendance ( Rank )
55,837
Starting Pitchers
Managers
Coaches
Tom Trebelhorn
1988
All-Star Game
Line Score / Box Score / Play by Play |
||||||||||||
1988 All-Star Game Capsule | ||||||||||||
League |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
American |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
National |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
A.L. Pitcher(s) | N.L. Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Frank Viola
(W) |
Dwight Gooden
(L) |
|||||||||||
A.L. Home Runs |
N.L. Home Runs |
|||||||||||
Terry Steinbach (3rd) |
None |
1988
All-Star Game
American League All-Star Squad |
||||
Lineup | Name | Team | Position | Notes |
|
Detroit Tigers |
P |
Did Not Pitch |
|
3. |
Boston Red Sox |
3B |
|
|
|
Kansas City Royals |
3B |
|
|
4. |
Oakland Athletics |
OF |
|
|
|
Boston Red Sox |
P |
|
|
|
Oakland Athletics |
P |
|
|
|
Minnesota Twins |
3B |
|
|
|
Boston Red Sox |
OF |
|
|
|
Kansas City Royals |
P |
|
|
|
Chicago White Sox |
SS |
Injured |
|
1. |
New York Yankees |
OF |
|
|
|
Cleveland Indians |
P |
|
|
|
Oakland Athletics |
3B |
|
|
|
Minnesota Twins |
C |
|
|
|
New York Yankees |
1B |
|
|
7. |
Oakland Athletics |
1B |
|
|
2. |
Milwaukee Brewers |
2B |
|
|
|
Milwaukee Brewers |
P |
|
|
|
Minnesota Twins |
OF |
|
|
|
California Angels |
2B |
|
|
|
Minnesota Twins |
P |
Did Not Pitch |
|
|
Seattle Mariners |
2B |
|
|
6. |
Baltimore Orioles |
SS |
|
|
|
Texas Rangers |
P |
|
|
8. |
Oakland Athletics |
C |
MVP |
|
|
Toronto Blue Jays |
P |
|
|
|
Kansas City Royals |
SS |
|
|
|
Detroit Tigers |
SS |
Injured |
|
9. |
Minnesota Twins |
P |
Starting Pitcher |
|
5. |
New York Yankees |
OF |
|
|
BOLD = Fan's choice to start the game (Manager chooses pitcher). |
1988
All-Star Game
National League All-Star Squad |
||||
Lineup | Name | Team | Position | Notes |
5. |
Pittsburgh Pirates |
3B |
|
|
7. |
New York Mets |
C |
|
|
6. |
San Francisco Giants |
1B |
|
|
1. |
St. Louis Cardinals |
OF |
|
|
|
New York Mets |
P |
|
|
|
San Diego Padres |
P |
|
|
3. |
Chicago Cubs |
OF |
|
|
|
Chicago Cubs |
SS |
Did Not Play |
|
|
Montreal Expos |
1B |
|
|
9. |
New York Mets |
P |
Starting Pitcher |
|
|
Philadelphia Phillies |
P |
|
|
|
Los Angeles Dodgers |
P |
|
|
|
Cincinnati Reds |
P |
Did Not Pitch |
|
|
Houston Astros |
P |
|
|
|
Cincinnati Reds |
SS |
|
|
|
Chicago Cubs |
2B |
|
|
|
Chicago Cubs |
P |
Did Not Pitch |
|
|
St. Louis Cardinals |
OF |
|
|
|
Chicago Cubs |
OF |
|
|
|
Philadelphia Phillies |
C |
|
|
|
Atlanta Braves |
1B |
|
|
|
Cincinnati Reds |
3B |
|
|
2. |
Chicago Cubs |
2B |
|
|
8. |
St. Louis Cardinals |
SS |
|
|
4. |
New York Mets |
OF |
|
|
|
San Francisco Giants |
2B |
Injured |
|
|
Pittsburgh Pirates |
OF |
|
|
|
Pittsburgh Pirates |
P |
|
|
|
St. Louis Cardinals |
P |
|
|
BOLD = Fan's choice to start the game (Manager chooses pitcher). |
Frank Viola was awarded the victory because of his start which included two perfectly pitched innings against the National League All-Star squad.
Did you know that the Terry Steinbach third inning home run actually hit the glove of Darryl Strawberry before going over the wall for a four-bagger?
Dennis Eckersley , the ace reliever of the era / period, threw a perfect ninth inning to shut down the National League and earn his second career Midsummer Classic save.