The All-Star feud between Cal Ripken Jr and Alex Rodriguez was back in the spotlight on Tuesday night, as the best baseball players in MLB played in Seattle.
The National League won their first MLB All-Star game since 2012 on Tuesday night, defeating the American League 3-2. It was also the first time that the All-Star game had been held in the city since 2001, when Ripken Jr and Rodriguez famously clashed in the first inning.
The pair were part of the broadcasting team on Tuesday, and couldn't help bring up the incident as they stood exactly where it took place. Ripken Jr spent his entire 21-year career with the Baltimore Orioles, and was named as the starting third baseman for the American League back in 2001.
Rodriguez was named as the starting shortstop, but offered to switch positions with Ripken to allow the Orioles icon to play in his preferred position one final time. Ripken Jr was set to retire at the end of the season, so Rodriguez was trying to do a nice thing.
But Ripken Jr wasn't happy with the suggestion, as he was clearly intent on staying exactly where he was. Rodriguez pushed the Orioles player in an attempt to make him move, and spoke about it again ahead of the 2023 All-Star game.
"Well, now that you brought it back up, I was kind of p***** at you, to be honest with you," Ripken said on the broadcast before the game. "... I hadn't been over there in a while.
"I got this big old glove on my hand that they made that they called humongous. I go, 'How am I going to go back over there and turn a double play?’"
Ripken Jr admitted he was mic'd up for the game, meaning he had to be very careful what he said after being pushed by Rodriguez. Ripken Jr did retire from the sport in 2001 as planned, and did so with some records under his belt.
The shortstop was a 19-time All-Star and won his first MVP award in 1983. He also broke Lou Gehrig’s streak for most consecutive games played with 2,216.
Ripken Jr played shortstop from 1982 to 1997, but was then moved to third base for the remainder of his career. Ripken Jr had clearly moved on from his previous position by that point, and wasn't keen on going back.
Their beef was later squashed and they all had a good laugh about it on Tuesday when reflecting on the past. But it remains one of the strange moments in All-Star history.
