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The 1983 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 comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on Wednesday, July 6, 1983, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League. The game resulted in the American League defeating the National League 13-3. The game occurred exactly 50 years to the date of the first All-Star game.
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This was the fifth All-Star Game to be played in Chicago, and the third to be hosted by the White Sox at Comiskey Park (the other two being hosted by the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field). This would be the last time that the All-Star Game would be hosted in the stadium where the annual exhibition began. When the White Sox next hosted the All-Star Game in 2003, they had moved across the street to their new home at U.S. Cellular Field.
The game was the first American League win since 1971, and only their second win since 1963. The 13 runs scored by the American League set a new record for one team in All-Star Game history. The ten-run margin of victory was the largest since the 12-0 American League victory in 1946.
The game is perhaps best remembered for Fred Lynn's third inning grand slam. As of the 2016 All Star Game, it is still the only grand slam in the history of the Midsummer Classic.
Prior to the start of the game, Chuck Mangione played the Canadian National Anthem, while the Oak Ridge Boys sang the United States National Anthem. The colors presentation was by the Great Lakes Naval Training Center Color Guard, which previously presented the colors at the 1947, 1950 and 1963 All-Star Games and would do the honors again in 1990 and 2003.
In 1983, there was an "Old Timer's Game", played the day before the actual All-Star game.
Rosters
Players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Umpires
George Maloney was the last home plate umpire to work an All-Star game wearing the outside chest protector long favored by umpires in the American League. Maloney was one of only four active umpires in 1983 still using the outside protector. He and Russ Goetz retired following the 1983 season. Bill Kunkel soldiered on while battling cancer, succumbing in May 1985. Jerry Neudecker, the last outside protector holdout, retired after the 1985 season.
Game summary
The first inning gave notice that this would be one of the sloppiest All-Star games in history. Steve Sax led off the game by reaching on an error by AL starting pitcher Dave Stieb. Sax stole second and scored when next batter Tim Raines grounded to Stieb and Stieb threw wildly past Rod Carew at first. Raines reached third, but couldn't score as Stieb struck out the side; Andre Dawson, Dale Murphy, and Mike Schmidt all fanned.
The AL tied it in their half of the first on a sacrifice fly by George Brett and took the lead in the second on another sac fly by Robin Yount. The Giants' Atlee Hammaker came in to pitch for the NL in the bottom of the third and promptly had one of the worst innings by a pitcher in All-Star Game history. Jim Rice led off with a solo homer, followed by a Brett triple. Dave Winfield singled home Brett. Manny Trillo singled, and Carew drove home Winfield with a two-out single. Hammaker then intentionally walked right-handed hitter Yount to face Fred Lynn, a left-handed hitter. Lynn made the NL pay for the move with the only grand slam hit in All-Star game history. When the dust cleared, the AL had a 9-1 lead and Hammaker had given up six hits and seven runs in an inning, both All-Star game records that still stand.
The NL gamely fought back on RBI singles by Murphy in the fourth and Sax in the fifth, but that was all they would get. In the seventh, Lou Whitaker had an RBI triple and Willie Wilson an RBI double for the AL. The AL capped off the scoring when Brett scored on a fly ball hit by Whitaker that Pedro Guerrero dropped and Rickey Henderson drove in Cecil Cooper with a groundout.