1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 50th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues constituting Major League Baseball.

It was held on Tuesday, July 17, at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington, the home of the third-year Seattle Mariners of the American League. The National League won 7–6 for their eighth consecutive win.

The game featured memorable defensive play by starting right fielder Dave Parker, as he had two assists on putouts: one at third base in the seventh inning and another at home plate to end the eighth. With Parker receiving the MVP award for this game, and teammate Willie Stargell winning the National League MVP, NLCS MVP, and World Series MVP, all four possible MVP awards for the season were won by members of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The game was also notable for the play of Lee Mazzilli, providing the margin of victory. In his only All-Star appearance, Mazzilli tied the game in the eighth inning with a pinch hit home run off of Jim Kern of the Texas Rangers, and then put the National League ahead for good in the ninth, drawing a bases-loaded walk against Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees.

This was the only All-Star Game at the Kingdome. When it returned to Seattle in 2001, the Mariners had moved across the street to their new home at Safeco Field.

It was the second All-Star Game held indoors, the first was eleven years earlier at the Astrodome in Houston. The weather outdoors was unseasonably hot in Seattle, with a high temperature of 96 F.

Rosters
Players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Game summary
American League starter Nolan Ryan began the game in sizzling fashion, striking out Davey Lopes and Dave Parker, but walked Steve Garvey. Mike Schmidt tripled in Garvey, and George Foster followed with a double down the right field line to score Schmidt for a 2–0 National League lead.

The American Leaguers came right back in the bottom of the first. George Brett walked with one out, Don Baylor doubled him in, and Fred Lynn put the AL up 3–2 with a two-out, two-run homer off Steve Carlton.

The NL regained the lead on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Parker in the second and an RBI groundout by Dave Winfield in the third. The AL went back up 5–4 in the bottom of the third when Carl Yastrzemski batted in a run with a single and Chet Lemon scored on a Schmidt error.

The score remained that way until the top of the sixth, when the NL tied it at five on a Winfield double off Mark Clear and an RBI single by Gary Carter. Pete Rose pinch-hit in and bounced into a double play, then entered the game, replacing Garvey at first and becoming the first player to appear in the All-Star Game at five different positions.

The AL went back up 6–5 in the bottom of the sixth. Gaylord Perry gave up a leadoff single to Yastrzemski, a double to Darrell Porter, and an RBI single to Mariner Bruce Bochte before leaving in favor of Joe Sambito without retiring a batter. Sambito pitched the NL out of trouble by getting Reggie Jackson to ground to Lopes at second, who gunned down Porter at the plate. After an intentional walk to Roy Smalley to load the bases, Sambito retired Brett and was relieved by Mike LaCoss. LaCoss then induced Baylor to hit into a force play end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Jim Rice led off and blooped a double to right with a high bounce off the artificial turf, but was thrown out by Parker as he tried to stretch it into a triple. Batting for Gary Matthews, Lee Mazzilli tied the score at six in the top of the eighth with an opposite-field homer off Jim Kern, the first pinch-hit home run in MLB All-Star game history.

The AL mounted one last threat in the bottom of the eighth when Brian Downing led off with a crisp single off Bruce Sutter and was sacrificed to second by Bochte. Sutter walked Jackson intentionally and then struck out Bobby Grich for the second out. Graig Nettles then lined a single to right, and Downing attempted to score, but once again the arm of Parker claimed another victim. Fielding the line drive on the first bounce, he fired a perfect strike on the fly to Carter, who blocked Downing's right hand from reaching the plate. Along with his other assist an inning earlier, this play earned Parker the game's MVP award.

The NL took the lead in the top of the ninth without recording a base hit. Joe Morgan walked with one out and was balked to second. Kern walked Parker intentionally, retired Craig Reynolds on a foul pop, but then walked Ron Cey to load the bases. Ron Guidry came in and walked Mazzilli, forcing in Morgan with the winning run. In the bottom of the inning, Sutter retired the side, with strikeouts of Rice and Rick Burleson to end the game and earn the win.