For about two hours on Tuesday night, the All-Star Game felt like an all-too-familiar Aaron Boone performance for his detractors to mock. The American League, typically dominant in these events, fell offensively flat. Pinch-hitter Brent Rooker broke the silence in the seventh, but it evoked a classic Yankees "fake comeback" more than an actual rally, leaving fans wondering why the thunder hadn't started earlier.
But, by the end of the night — thanks in part to fan favorite (dream trade target?) Steven Kwan playing the game of baseball beautifully — the score had been miraculously leveled, and the game reached unprecedented "extras".