Figgins' day, Crawford's catch just parts of another AL win

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ST. LOUIS -- We could tell you about All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Carl Crawford, the unknown "mega-superstar" of the Rays, as teammate Carlos Pena calls him.

We could tell you about Curtis Granderson, the kid from the South Side of Chicago who finally got to meet that other guy from the South Side, then had the 2009 All-Star Game's most important hit, and scored the winning run.

We could even tell you about Mariano Rivera, the guy with 505 career saves, the guy who now owns four All-Star saves, the most ever.

We could, but first we have to tell you about Chone Figgins, the guy who didn't even get in the game for the American League Tuesday night, as the AL won again, 4-3.

Figgins was home Tuesday morning, in Newport Beach, Calif., still asleep, when his phone rang. Or rather, he was home when his phone would have rung had he left it turned on. But he didn't, because it was the All-Star break and he had no way of knowing that back in St. Louis, Evan Longoria had an infected ring finger that would keep him from playing.

No way of knowing that back in St. Louis the American League wanted to make Figgins a first-time All-Star, if only they could find him. But his phone wasn't turned on.

"So Tim Mead from the Angels called Garret Anderson, who called my mom, who called my uncle, who called Garret Anderson, who called my uncle, who called a minor league coach, Keith Johnson, who happened to be staying with me," Figgins said. "It was a long process."

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Johnson's phone finally rang at Figgins' house at 8:30 Pacific Time. By noon, Figgins was on a flight to St. Louis. By 6:30 Central Time, he was in St. Louis, trying to get to Busch Stadium but delayed because of the security for President Obama.

"Then the chief of police in St. Louis drove me to the ballpark," Figgins said. "I got my red carpet. That was my special parade right there."

He got there in time for the pregame introductions, in time to see Obama throw out the first pitch, in time to see Crawford rob Brad Hawpe of a home run in the seventh inning, in time for Granderson's eighth-inning triple and the Adam Jones sacrifice fly that followed, and in time for Rivera to do what he always does in the ninth inning and lock down another AL win.

Curtis Granderson scores the winning run but his biggest thrill is meeting President Obama. (US Presswire)

He saw it all, and in an AL clubhouse full of smiles, Figgins had the biggest one. In an AL clubhouse full of good stories, Figgins had the best one.

But the other stories were pretty good, too.

There was Crawford, the first position player to become All-Star MVP without an RBI since Willie Mays in 1968. Mays won because he scored the only run in a 1-0 National League win. Crawford won because his single led to a fifth-inning run that tied the game, but mostly because his catch prevented a Hawpe home run that would have given the NL the lead.

"That saved the game right there," said Rivera, who knows a thing or two about saving games.

Crawford, who raced back to the wall and then reached over the fence in front of the left-field bullpen, insisted it was the first time he's made that kind of home run-robbing catch.

"I've tried a bunch of times," he said.

Crawford said he has even asked noted home run robber Torii Hunter how he does it. Sure enough, in an All-Star Game that Hunter had to miss because of injury, Crawford found a way to do it himself.

"Torii Hunter, he goes up higher," Crawford said. "His catches are nice. I just think [this one] was an important catch."

Don't let him kid you. This was a real nice catch, too.

"He is so humble," Pena said. "I get to see [plays like that] all the time. This guy's a superstar, a mega-superstar. The way he runs, it's like poetry in motion."

Crawford's speed kept Tuesday's game tied in the seventh. Granderson's speed put the AL ahead for good in the eighth.

The Tigers center fielder had 23 triples in 2007, the most any big league player has had in the last 60 years. It's almost shocking to see that he has just two triples this year.

"Who knows what's going on?" Granderson said. "Maybe this can be the kick-start to get me going in the second half."

Or maybe it was the chance to finally meet Obama, who visited both clubhouses before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

"Everybody always asks me, being from Chicago, if I've ever met him," Granderson said. "And I never had. Now I can say I have."

It was just a quick handshake, Granderson said. Obama, he said, was more interested in talking to Ichiro Suzuki, whose locker was next to Granderson's.

"Ichiro's the man," Granderson said. "[Obama] told him he was a huge fan, that he likes his game. He signed a baseball for Ichiro, and then he kept moving on."

The AL kept moving on after Granderson's triple. Jones drove him in with the sacrifice fly, and the game was in the hands of Joe Nathan and then the great Rivera.

"It's a huge honor [to set up Rivera]," said Nathan, who has 223 career saves and is considered by some to be baseball's best closer. "He's one guy I look up to, that I really respect."

Nathan laughed about needing 19 pitches for his scoreless inning, after the first five AL relievers had averaged just eight. Rivera used 13 pitches for his 1-2-3 ninth.

"We came here for a mission, and the mission was accomplished," Rivera said.

He made it sound so routine, just as he makes his job look so routine. And just as AL wins in the All-Star Game have become so routine.

The only thing that wasn't routine was Chone Figgins' day.

He became an All-Star. He found his way to St. Louis. He got a ride from the chief of police. He saw the president. And along the way, he even made enough phone calls to arrange for his family to fly up from Tampa to see the game, too.

"You never know what's going to happen with baseball," he said.

You only know that if it's the All-Star Game, the American League is going to win.