On This Date in Sports August 9, 1981: All-Star Return

In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com

The season resumed for Major League Baseball after a two-month strike with the All-Star Game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The National League continues its domination of the midsummer classic with a 5-4 win as Gary Carter of the Montreal Expos is named MVP with a pair of home runs. It is the tenth straight All-Star Game win for the senior circuit, who had just two losses since 1962.  

For the first time since June 12th, the call of "Play Ball" was held as the season resumed after a two-month work stoppage. One year earlier, a strike was adverted as a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached, with the issue of Free Agent compensation unresolved. The unresolved issue became a point of disconnection as the players staged the longest walkout to date. The strike was resolved on July 31st, with the league deciding to restart the season with the All-Star Game that was originally scheduled for July 14th.

A record 72,086 fans filled Municipal Stadium as Dallas Green of the Philadelphia Phillies led the National League, while Jim Frey of the Kansas City Royals managed the American League. Rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers got the star for the NL while Jack Morris of the Detroit Tigers started for the AL. Since it had been two months, starters were limited to one inning. In the second inning, Ken Singleton of the Baltimore Orioles greeted Tom Seaver of the Cincinnati Reds with a leadoff home run to open the scoring. 

The National League tied the game in the fifth as Gary Carter homered off Ken Forsch of the California Angels. Dave Parker of the Pittsburgh Pirates gave the NL a 2-1 lead in the sixth with a home run off Mike Norris of the Oakland Athletics. In the bottom of the inning, the American League scored three runs off Burt Hooton of the Dodgers as Fred Lynn of the Angels and Ted Simmons of the Brewers delivered the key hits. 

Down 4-2, the National League got one run back as Carter homered off Ron Davis of the New York Yankees. The National League regained the lead one inning later, as Mike Schmidt of the Phillies homered against Brewers closer Rollie Fingers. The lead would stand as Vida Blue of the San Francisco Giants earned the win, while Bruce Sutter of the St. Louis Cardinals earned a save