The National League defeated the American League Tuesday night to win the 2010 MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim. Amazingly, it was the first time the NL won in over 13 years. Aside from Brian McCann’s bases clearing double in the seventh that put the NL on top for good, the play of the night came on defense. With one out and a lead-footed David Ortiz running at first, Marlon Byrd chose to let a bloop hit fall in front of him rather than risk diving and allowing the ball to get by. He then quickly fielded it and made an accurate, spinning throw to force Big Papi out at second. Check out the video of Marlon Byrd throwing out David Ortiz in the 9th inning of the All-Star Game, courtesy of YouTube user crZY383:
Just a phenomenal, heads-up play by Byrd. What’s really impressive about it is that he didn’t get lucky. He knew Ortiz was running and he knew he’d have a chance to make the play if he let the ball drop. On a night where we were subjected to ridiculous songs about Vladimir Guerrero, it was great to see a few Web Gems from the guys we expect to make them.
Video Credit: YouTube user crZY383