Sutton, Palmer Start for All-Stars Tonight

For the first time in 13 summers, baseball will stage its All-Star Game in New York tonight, when the American league tries to escape one of the strangest slumps in the history of its rivalry with the National League: five straight loses and 13 in the last 14 years. 25 of the last 31 (including this game).

Each has pitched in three previous All-Star games; neither has allowed a run yet. Palmer, three times voted the best pitcher in the AL, might have added to his stats last July, but was left off the roster by Darrell Johnson whom he promptly described as “an idiot.”

Billy Martin did not initially select Nolan Ryan but chose his teammate Frank Tanana who developed shoulder trouble. When the managers picked the eight pitchers for each team, Martin chose Tanana of the Angels but ignored Ryan who had won 13 games with four sutouts and 222 stikeouts. Then Tanana developed a strained shoulder and was replace belatedly by Ryan, who refused the nomination. Martin claimed, “It’s difficult because you have to select at least one player from every team.”

NYT Joseph Durso NYT 7/19/77