After American League victory, All-Star rivalry is even again for the first time since 1964

As if Major League Baseball’s last All-Star game wasn’t dramatic enough in itself, that contest also accomplished a feat unmatched in 53 years. Seattle second baseman Robinson Canó broke a 1-1 tie, smashing a home run in the 10th inning for the American League.

That victory equals the two league records for the first time since 1964, as each team has won 43 of the contests. Every league has won more games than the total played last year, the teams were tied, even though through eight innings in that Midsummer Classic it looked like the one-game gap would grow to two.

The National League trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, when he faced Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Dick Radatz. Before he could retire three batters, however, the Senior Circuit stars put up four runs to earn a seven-four victory.

Future Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants led off with a single, then quickly slid second base into scoring position. Another slugger who would go on to make a name for himself in Cooperstown, San Francisco’s Orlando Cepeda, singled to score Mays with the tying run.

After Cepeda moved to second on an error, manager Walter Alston sent out Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals as a pinch runner. Radatz had the Cardinals’ Ken Boyer come out and, since first base was unoccupied, he intentionally walked Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Edwards.

That strategy seemed logical, given that the next scheduled hitter was defensive outfielder Ron Hunt of the hometown Mets. It became ominous when future home run king Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves stepped up to hit for Hunt with two men on, but Radatz managed to strike him out.

With the National League just two strikes away from losing to their rivals, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Johnny Callison feels a pitch over the right-field wall at Shea Stadium in New York. That burst not only gave the Senior Circuit bragging rights for another year, but also tied the series at 17 wins a piece.

National League All-Star squads would win every contest for the rest of the sixties, and all but one for the next decade. In fact, the Senior Circuit would go on to win eighteen of the next twenty Midsummer Classics, a dominance that would keep their rivals chasing them until they finally caught up with them in last week’s ten-inning battle.