Citi Field was loud. It was July 16, 2013, and the air in Queens felt heavy with that specific New York humidity that sticks to your jersey. But nobody in the stands cared about the sweat. They were there for a goodbye, even if the scoreboard said it was a midsummer exhibition. The 2013 All Star baseball game wasn't really about the American League beating the National League 3-0. Honestly, if you ask most fans who won, they’d have to think about it for a second. What they remember is the eighth inning.
Enter Sandman.
Usually, the closer comes in during the ninth. That’s the rule. It’s the law of the land in baseball. But Jim Leyland, managing the AL squad, knew better. He didn't want to risk a ninth-inning collapse by the NL preventing the greatest closer in history from stepping onto the rubber one last time in an All-Star uniform. So, Mariano Rivera jogged out in the eighth. Alone.
The stadium erupted.
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It wasn't just Yankees fans. Mets fans—people who usually spend their July afternoons lamenting their own bullpen—were standing and screaming. The NL dugout was on its feet. The AL players stayed in the dugout, letting Mo have the diamond to himself for a full minute of pure, unadulterated respect. It’s rare to see 45,186 people agree on anything, but they agreed on Mo.
The Pitching Clinic Nobody Saw Coming
While everyone talks about the nostalgia, we tend to forget how dominant the pitching actually was that night. This wasn't a home run derby. In fact, it was the first time since 1990 that a Midsummer Classic ended in a shutout. The National League bats were ice cold. Totally frozen.
Chris Sale started for the American League, but the real story was the sheer variety of arms Leyland threw at the Senior Circuit. We’re talking about a peak Max Scherzer, a devastating Felix Hernandez, and even a young Chris Archer making his presence felt. On the other side, Matt Harvey started for the NL in his home park. He was "Dark Knight" era Harvey back then. High heat. Brash. He actually hit Robinson Cano in the first inning, which briefly made everyone a little nervous, but Cano eventually walked it off (though he did leave the game with a quad contusion).
The scoring was surgical. Jose Bautista hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to score Miguel Cabrera. Then, in the fifth, Adam Jones doubled and later scored on a groundout by J.J. Hardy. It was small ball. In an era where everyone was starting to chase the long ball, the 2013 All Star baseball game was a throwback to moving runners over and hitting behind the guy.
Prince Fielder’s Triple and Other Weirdness
If you want a "glitch in the matrix" moment, look at Prince Fielder. Prince was built like a refrigerator, albeit a very athletic one. In the ninth inning, he hit a ball to the wall and somehow, someway, chugged his way around to third base for a triple.
A Prince Fielder triple.
It was the first All-Star triple by a Tiger since Al Kaline. Watching a man of that stature fly around the bases in a bright orange Detroit helmet is the kind of stuff you only get in these games. It added an insurance run when Jason Kipnis drove him in, but by then, the vibe was already settled. The AL had the lead, and the bullpen was a buzzsaw.
The Impact of the Home Field Advantage Rule
Back in 2013, the All-Star Game actually "meant something." Remember that? This was the era where the winning league got home-field advantage in the World Series.
Bud Selig’s brainchild.
Critics hated it. Players were torn. But you could see the intensity in the late innings. Joe Nathan didn't come in to "get some work in" during the ninth; he came in to shut the door because the AL wanted that Game 7 at home in October. As it turned out, the Boston Red Sox—the eventual 2013 champs—definitely appreciated that 3-0 victory in Queens when they faced the Cardinals later that year.
Some people argue that the 2013 All Star baseball game proved the rule was flawed. Why should an exhibition game determine the stakes of the Fall Classic? But man, did it make for tense baseball. You saw guys like Grant Balfour and Brett Cecil pitching like it was the playoffs. They weren't just throwing 92 mph fastballs down the pipe; they were painting corners.
Breaking Down the MVP Race
Most people assume Mariano Rivera won the MVP because it was a lifetime achievement award. Kind of a "thanks for the memories" trophy. But if you look at the box score, he earned it. He came into the eighth, faced three batters, and sat them down in order.
- Jean Segura: Groundout.
- Allen Craig: Lineout.
- Carlos Gomez: Groundout.
Sixteen pitches. That signature cutter was moving like a frisbee. It was the first time a reliever won the All-Star MVP since Pedro Martinez in 1999 (though Pedro started that game, so it's a bit different). Mo became the first pure closer to ever take the hardware home.
What We Get Wrong About the 2013 Roster
People look back at the 2013 rosters and see a lot of "one-hit wonders." It’s easy to forget that guys like Jean Segura and Patrick Corbin were the young, rising stars of that specific moment. But the 2013 All Star baseball game was also a massive transition point for the sport.
Look at the shortstops. You had Troy Tulowitzki starting for the NL and J.J. Hardy for the AL. This was the bridge between the Derek Jeter era and the Francisco Lindor/Corey Seager era. We were seeing the last gasps of the early-2000s superstars. David Ortiz was there. Carlos Beltran was there. But Mike Trout was also there, hitting a double off the very first pitch of the game from Matt Harvey.
Trout was only 21. Think about that.
The 2013 game was essentially the passing of the torch. It was the old guard (Rivera, Ortiz, Leyland) handing the keys to the kingdom to the "statcast" generation. We didn't have the exit velocity data back then like we do now, but you didn't need a computer to tell you that Trout's double was hit harder than anything else that night.
The Citi Field Factor
The 2013 All Star baseball game was the first time the Mets hosted since 1964 at Shea Stadium. The atmosphere was electric because New York fans, despite their reputation, are incredibly knowledgeable about the history. They knew they were watching the end of an era with Mo.
There was also the Tom Seaver factor. "The Terrific" threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Mike Piazza. It was a bridge between generations of Mets royalty. It’s those little details—the sight of Piazza in a suit catching a ball from a graying Seaver—that give the All-Star game its soul.
Technical Mastery in the Bullpen
If you're a pitching nerd, the 2013 game is a gold mine. The AL used ten pitchers. Ten. And they combined for a three-hit shutout. That’s insane.
- Chris Sale: 2 innings, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts.
- Felix Hernandez: The King being The King.
- Greg Holland: Filthy sliders.
- Brett Cecil: Overpowering stuff.
The National League had plenty of talent too—Clayton Kershaw pitched a clean inning, as did Jose Fernandez (a reminder of a career ended far too soon). But the AL pitching staff was simply on a different level that night. They didn't allow a single walk. Not one. In a game featuring the best hitters in the world, that is a statistical anomaly that doesn't get enough credit.
Why It Still Matters Today
When you look back at the 2013 All Star baseball game, you're looking at the blueprint for the modern game. It was the beginning of the "bullpenning" trend. It showed that elite arms, used in short bursts, can completely neutralize even a lineup filled with Hall of Famers like Miguel Cabrera and Joey Votto.
It also marked the end of the "specialist" era. These pitchers weren't just situational; they were all-around beasts. And the game itself? It was the last time an All-Star game felt like a gritty, low-scoring duel before the current era of "home run or strikeout" took over.
Next Steps for Baseball History Fans:
To truly appreciate the context of the 2013 Midsummer Classic, you should watch the full replay of the 8th inning—specifically the "mic'd up" segments if you can find them. It captures the transition of the game better than any stat sheet ever could.
- Check out the 2013 World Series highlights to see how the home-field advantage won by the AL actually played out for the Red Sox.
- Compare the 2013 pitching velocities to the current 2024-2025 averages; you’ll be surprised at how much the "average" fastball has jumped since Mo retired.
- Look up Matt Harvey’s 2013 season stats—it’s a tragic but fascinating look at one of the most dominant single seasons in recent New York history that peaked right around this game.