In the middle of the All Star break festivities, we at PRO Rumors wanted to provide you with a little history about the games, and a list of cool facts that you can brag about to your friends today.

The first All Star game was played in 1933 at Comiskey Park (former home of the White Sox), Chicago. The American League won the game 4-2 and Babe Ruth became the first player to ever hit a home run in an All Star game after hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the third off Bill Hallahan.

His teammate Lefty Gomez was the first pitcher to ever win an All Star game. Frankie Frisch was the first National League player to hit a home run in an All Star game.

At the beginning of the All Star games, the manager of each League selected the entire team. In 1947, fans were given the opportunity to vote on the eight starting position players for the first time, although the experiment lasted only ten seasons.

In 1957, Reds fans stuffed the ballots and elected a Red to every position except first base. MLB Commissioner, Ford Frick, stepped in and removed two Reds from the lineup and as a response fan voting was discontinued.

For the next 12 years, players, coaches, and managers were given the authority to elect starting position players. Then in 1969 fan balloting for the starting eight was restored in an attempt to modernize marketing of baseball.

Facts:

– Of the eighteen players who started the 1934 game only Wally Berger is not in the Hall of Fame.

– The same year, Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession at the Polo Grounds.

– Brooks Robinson (1966) and Carl Yastrzemski (1970) are the only players to be named All Star MVP while playing for the losing team.

– Fred Lynn 1983 hit the first Grand Slam in an All Star game.

– In 1991, Cal Ripken Jr became the first and only player to win the Home Run Derby, All Star MVP and American League MVP the same year.

– In 2000 Derek Jeter became the first player to win the All Star game and the World Series MVP in the same year.

– Ichiro Suzuki hit in 2007 the first inside-the-park home run in an All Star game.

– “They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays,” Ted Williams once said, and he was right. Mays is the all-time leader in runs (20), hits (23), triples (3, tied with Brooks Robinson), steals (6) and total bases (40, tied with Stan Musial) in All Star games. He played in 24 All Star games.

This year’s facts:

– Carlos Beltran became the first National League Designated Hitter while playing in a National League park.

– With Prince Fielder’s homer in the bottom of the fourth, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the only team without a home run in an All Star game.

– Jair Jurrjens is now the player with more “j’s” in his name to play in an All Star game.

Now sit back and enjoy your day off. Information from Wikipedia and an article written by Roger Schlueter of MLB.com was used in this article.

Image by ▌ÇP▐ under the Creative Commons License.