Recall the time Ichiro hit the only inside-the-park homer in All-Star Game history
The 2007 All-Star Game belonged to
Facing the NL's best pitching, it hardly mattered to Ichiro, then a member of the Mariners, as he dazzled on both sides of the field. But the signature moment of his night, arguably, came in the top of the fifth inning with the AL trailing, 1-0. Facing
Anybody familiar with AT&T Park knows that the brick wall in right-center field presents a bit of a challenge for outfielders, carom-wise. As does hitting a baseball as hard as Ichiro did. This all led to a lightning-fast inside-the-park homer:
You may notice that the Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. was tasked with the unenviable task of chasing down that ball after the wicked ricochet, but alas, it hardly mattered in the end. Ichiro's just too fast.
Remarkably, that was the first inside-the-park home run struck in All-Star Game history, and zero have been hit since. Which is an appropriate statistic, considering this record belongs to a once-in-a-lifetime talent like Ichiro.