Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 12, 1990 TAG: 9007120097
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO LENGTH: Medium
Its roster read like a who's who of future Hall of Famers, which it turned out to be. Aaron, Mays, Gibson and Drysdale, and later Rose, Bench, Seaver and Schmidt.
Back then, American League players said they didn't know why the Nationals won all the time. Publicly, the Nationals said they tried harder; privately, they said they were better.
The significance of the All-Star Game can be argued forever. But now that the National League's domination has ended, the Americans are ready to strut their stuff.
"The AL is the better league," unofficial spokesman Jose Canseco said Tuesday night after a 2-0 victory. "We have the better players."
Like him or not, the Oakland slugger might be right.
After a stretch in which the Nationals won 19 of 20 games, the Americans have won four of the last five. That includes a three-game winning streak, its longest since 1946-49, when Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams ruled.
This time, eight pitchers held the Nationals to two hits, the fewest ever in All-Star play, and the Americans didn't even use Roger Clemens, Gregg Olson or no-hit man Randy Johnson.
The Nationals have scored just eight runs in the last five games and have not hit a home run since 1984.
Twilight, when hard throwers such as Mario Soto, Dwight Gooden and Nolan Ryan ruled for the Nationals is over; Gooden wasn't chosen for the game this year and neither was Ryan, now with Texas in the American League.
Bret Saberhagen and Dave Stieb each pitched two hitless innings for the Americans, and Bobby Thigpen and Chuck Finley each held the Nationals hitless for one inning in their first All-Star pitching appearances.
The Americans haven't exactly scorched the ball, either, scoring 14 runs in the last seven games. They got seven hits this time, and Julio Franco's two-run double in the seventh inning was the difference.
At a time when both leagues like to talk about their new talent, the Americans showed the better of it. Sandy Alomar Jr., Cleveland's rookie catcher, singled twice and scored a run. Alomar also demonstrated the kind of aggressive play the Nationals long thought the Americans lacked, sliding into first base - albeit not always a good play - for an infield hit.
That's the style of Tony La Russa, Oakland's manager. He has guided the Americans to the last two victories and his direct demeanor provides a contrast to the usual All-Star festivities.
"I think a lot of times people take the All-Star Game too seriously. Sometimes the managers do," said Canseco, who plays for La Russa. "I just came out to have fun, and I did."
by CNB