Quickly, without peeking at your smart phone, tablet or laptop, can you recall who won last year’s Major League Baseball All-Star game?
Chances are that you and the majority of America’s baseball fans have forgotten about that contest, as is the case with most Midsummer Classics.
But 10 years ago, there was one battle between the leagues that will stay etched in our memories, one unforgettable stalemate that had fans of the sport crying foul.
The 2002 All-Star Game was also a national showcase for Milwaukee’s new crown jewel, Miller Park.
Fittingly, a Miller who was also a Wisconsin native, played in the game. Catcher Damian Miller, from La Crosse, who would later become a Brewer, represented the Diamondbacks and would turn out to be a key player in the memorable contest.
"For me, growing up as a Brewers fan, to play in an All-Star Game in Wisconsin with my family and friends in the stands was special," said Miller, who ended his career after playing in Milwaukee in 2007 and now, at age 42, is "enjoying retirement" back in his hometown.
The score after 11 innings that year was 7-7. The two managers -- the NL's Bob Brenly and AL's Joe Torre -- had used all 30 of their players and their last eligible pitchers had each already thrown two innings.
MLB commissioner Bud Selig ruled the game would end in a tie.
"The decision was made because there were no players left, no pitchers left," Selig told Sports Illustrated. "This is not the ending I had hoped for. I was in a no-win situation."
The contest started promisingly enough for the hometown National League fans. The NL jumped to an early 4-0 lead and still led, 5-2, after five innings when Miller drove in a run with an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth. Miller, who had two hits, was a strong MVP candidate; a Wisconsin lad taking the award in his own backyard would have provided a storybook ending had the NL prevailed.
But the AL scored the next five runs to go ahead, 7-5. The NL answered with two in the seventh to pull even, and four innings later no one prevailed.
There were boos throughout the stadium and a few fans in right field threw bottles to protest the decision.
"They made the right decision. It's only a friendly game," said Milwaukee shortstop Jose Hernandez at the time. He, along with Richie Sexson, represented the Brewers.
"It was a tough decision," Miller said. "We wanted to win the game, but we understood that you need to protect players for down the stretch. But if they had made a different decision, some people would have complained about that, too.
"I can understand why some fans were upset, but they did get to watch two extra innings of some of the greatest players of all time."
The evening began with a celebration of Milwaukee baseball history as Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount threw out ceremonial first pitches. And the anguished cries of much of the baseball nation notwithstanding, the evening ended with Milwaukee securing its place in baseball history.
While the particulars of the victors and vanquished of most All-Star games quickly fade from memory, few fans will ever forget "the tie of '02."
And it was certainly a lifetime moment for the kid who graduated from West Salem High School 15 years earlier and dreamed of playing in a big game in Wisconsin’s biggest city.
"Fans will definitely remember that one," Miller said. "You’re not going to see many ties in baseball."
