Robinson Cano stole the show at the 2017 Major League All-Star Game and won the MVP award after hitting the winning home run that sealed the 2-1 victory for the American League in the tenth inning.
Cano, second baseman of the Seattle Mariners, came into the game as a designated hitter and hit 1 of 2, striking out in the seventh before hitting the game-winning home run in the tenth.
He became the key player in the 88th All-Star Game that was played at Marlins Park in Miami. Cano, a Dominican-American, turned into the hero as he faced Chicago Cubs’ reliever Wade Davis, a player he called “one of the best in the game.”
Cano said that the at-bat against Davis was tough and he felt nervous, but ready to swing at any type of pitch that Davis threw at him. He was just focusing on swinging and connecting, although he was looking for a pitch down the middle.
Cano’s homer was the first in extra innings in an All-Star Game since Cuban Tony Perez, of the Cincinnati Reds, did it exactly 50 years ago in the 15th inning against Oakland Athletics Pitcher Catfish Hunter in the NL’s 2-1 win at Anaheim, California.
Perez, who was present at Marlins Park, was one of the several Latin-Born Hall of Fame members who threw a ceremonial first pitch before the start of the game.
Cano became the third Mariners player to be named All-Star Game MVP, joining Japan’s Ichiro Suzuki (2007) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1992).
At 34, the Seattle second baseman was among the oldest players in the event. He was added to the roster only Friday as a replacement for injured Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro.
