Boston Red Sox top-10 MLB All-Star Game performances
By Sean Penney
Roger Clemens – 1986
Long before Clemens became a villain in Boston he was one of the cities greatest heroes. The Rocket got the start for the AL in 1986, tossing three perfect innings with two strikeouts.
Tony Gwynn made solid contact to lead off the game (when did Gwynn not make solid contact?), only to line out to left fielder Rickey Henderson. That’s the closet the NL would get to dealing any damage against Clemens. Ryne Sandberg struck out and Keith Hernandez grounded out to first to complete a clean first inning.
The second inning didn’t fare any better for the NL. Clemens struck out Darryl Strawberry, which he sandwiched between a pair of harmless fly outs.
Clemens came back for the third inning, getting all three batters he faced to ground out. Lou Whitaker‘s two-run homer off Dwight Gooden gave the AL the lead the previous inning. That put Clemens in line for the win when the AL hung on to beat the NL 3-2.
It wasn’t an overpowering performance for Clemens but it was enough to earn him MVP honors that year. He’s one of only three Red Sox players to earn MVP honors in an All-Star Game.
Clemens would go on to be named the regular season MVP in ’86, along with his first Cy Young award. He helped pitch the Red Sox to the World Series that year, where they ultimately fell short to the New York Mets.