But with a 7-5 victory over the National League before 41,617 in Comerica Park on Tuesday night, the American League proved it's still rockin' in the free world.
"Tonight was a great game for the American League," AL third baseman Alex Rodriguez said. "We brought a lot to the table. ... We had guys that could hit the ball out of the ballpark at any time, in any direction. It was a fun game for us."
It should have been, because the AL won its third straight All-Star Game and by rule its third straight home-field advantage in the World Series. The Junior Circuit also ran its undefeated All-Star streak to nine. The NL hasn't won since 1996.
And a day after Major League Baseball announced the March 2006 debut of the World Baseball Classic, several players who are expected to be key participants in the 16-country tournament shined on the game's biggest midseason stage.
Leading that charge was Dominican superstar shortstop Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles, who started the party with a homer, got the defense rolling with a Gold Glove-caliber play, and walked away with the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. Tejada is the fifth Latin American-born player among the last eight MVP winners.
Tejada kicked off the AL's fiesta and helped induce another NL siesta with his glove.
With Monday night's CENTURY 21 Home Run Derby champion, Bobby Abreu, on first base for the NL after a leadoff single in the first inning, Carlos Beltran scorched an offering from AL starter and winning pitcher Mark Buehrle up the middle for what appeared to be a single.
But Tejada ranged a few feet to his left, knocked the ball down and flipped it to his Orioles teammate, Brian Roberts, while on the ground for a rally-stifling, highlight-reel double play.
"I think more than the home run, I think the play he made defensively in the first inning, to me, that relaxes Buehrle," AL manager Terry Francona said. "The whole game, I think, changes on that. That's a heck of a play."
It shifted the momentum right into the AL dugout and right into Tejada's wheelhouse.
Tejada got the scoring going with a no-doubter of a solo shot off Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz, crushing an 0-1 fastball 436 feet into the left-field seats for his first career All-Star Game home run.
"I tried to make the best pitches I could against a great lineup," said Smoltz, who took the loss while pitching in his hometown. "One got away."
Dominican slugger David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox made it 2-0 in the third with an RBI single off the wall in right field against Roy Oswalt.
Tejada pushed another run across in that inning with an RBI fielder's choice, and Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners kept the pressure on with a two-run single in the fourth against Livan Hernandez.
"I think the game is going in the direction of more international players playing in the Major Leagues," Ichiro said through an interpreter. "We're not quite there yet. It's going to get more globalized."
Fair enough, but the global baseball power of the United States wasn't about to be left out of the AL's All-Star party.
After two opening shutout innings, the AL went from Buehrle to burlier, giving the ball to Angels ace Bartolo Colon, a big man who tossed a big third inning before yielding to Johan Santana, Matt Clement and Jon Garland. All three kept the NL quiet through the sixth while the AL did more damage.