New Faces Represent N.Y. in All-Star Game

Tuesday night’s 80th All-Star Game will feature seven of New York’s finest baseball players.
New Faces Represent N.Y. in All-Star Game
Francisco Rodriguez (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Kristen Meriwether
7/13/2009
Updated:
7/14/2009
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/87224714_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/87224714_medium-317x450.jpg" alt="Francisco Rodriguez  (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)" title="Francisco Rodriguez  (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-89167"/></a>
Francisco Rodriguez  (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Tuesday night’s 80th All-Star Game will feature seven of New York’s finest baseball players.

Third baseman David Wright and pitchers Francisco Rodriguez and Johan Santana were selected to represent the Mets for the NL All-Star team

Carlos Beltran, who was supposed to start in center field, will not suit up due to his injured right knee.

The Yankees will send short-stop captain Derek Jeter, first baseman Mark Teixeira, and pitcher Mariano Rivera to play for the AL all-stars.

While Jeter and Rivera will both be playing in their 10th All-Star Game as Yankees, Mark Teixeira will be making his first all-star start representing the Yankees.

This is Teixeira’s second time being voted in as an all-star. His first was in 2005 as a Texas Ranger. He went 1–3 with a home run that year.

He also participated in the Home Run Derby that year, but only hit two out of the park in the first round, and did not make it into the second round. He did not participate in this year’s Home Run Derby.
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/88968524_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/88968524_medium.jpg" alt="Mark Teixeira (Nick Laham/Getty Images)" title="Mark Teixeira (Nick Laham/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-89168"/></a>
Mark Teixeira (Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Teixeira is hitting .275 with 21 homers (tied for fourth in AL) and 63 RBIs (fifth in AL) so far this year. He has really enjoyed the hitter-friendly new Yankee Stadium, hitting 13 of his 21 home runs there, including his only two multi-home run games of the season.

Francisco Rodriguez will be making his first all-star appearance as a New York Met, as well as his first NL appearance. This will be his third All-Star Game in a row.

Rodriguez has made three previous all-star appearances (2004, 2007, and 2008), all with the Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels organization. He has pitched 1.1 innings and faced seven batters. He walked three batters and put away four via the pop fly out. In the 2007 contest, he was awarded the save, his first in an All-Star Game.

Rodriguez has been a great addition to the Mets closing staff, earning 22 of 25 save opportunities. He has also continued to earn his nickname “K-Rod” by striking out 41 batters in 41.1 innings pitched.

The NL is looking to break a six-game losing streak against the AL. The NL team has not had an outright win since 1996. They were able to tie in 2002.

The All-Star Game begins at 8:00 p.m. from St. Louis’s Busch Stadium. The broadcasting duo of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver will call the game for a record 11th time for FOX. Tim McCarver has called the game 18 times, which is also a record.

President Barack Obama will throw out the ceremonial fist pitch, becoming the fourth sitting president to do so.