[0] HERO IS A HOMER; ALOMAR'S SHOT WINS IT FOR AL : AL 3, NL 1.

Byline: Jayson Stark Philadelphia Inquirer 

He isn't The Other Alomar anymore.

Once upon a time, Sandy Alomar Jr. was just Roberto's big brother. And Sandy Sr.'s other son. And an All-Star who kept being voted in because of his famous name, not his All-Star credentials.

But not anymore.

Tuesday night, The Other Alomar was really The Only Alomar. With two outs in the seventh inning of a tie game, Sandy Alomar Jr. sent a game-winning home run roaring into the left-center-field seats. And because he did, the American League beat the National League in the 68th All-Star Game, 3-1.

Until Alomar stepped to the plate to face Giants rookie Shawn Estes, no Cleveland Indian had hit an All-Star home run since Rocky Colavito - 38 years ago. For that matter, no player had hit an All-Star home run in his home park since some nobody named Henry Aaron - 27 years ago in Atlanta.

But after a career of playing backup to his brother, Sandy Alomar stepped into a spotlight he had finally earned. He brought a 30-game hitting streak - the longest in the '90s - into this game. He brought a .375 batting average into this game - the best in the American League.

He was an All-Star because he deserved to be. And Tuesday night, he was an All-Star MVP - because he deserved to be.

``I'm so proud of him,'' his brother, Roberto, said this week. ``Being his brother, I know what he went through when he kept getting injured. He was really frustrated.''

Tuesday night, that frustration was just a distant memory - because this was Sandy Alomar's night.

``I don't know to explain this,'' said the first man to win an All-Star MVP award in his home park. ``This is an unbelievable feeling, playing in front of your hometown crowd. This is my dream. This is everybody's dream.''

And it's a good thing that dream came true - because until Alomar came along, the highlight of the American League's first All-Star win since 1993 was just another classic confrontation between Randy Johnson and a left-handed-hitting All-Star who wanted no parts of him.

Somewhere in the hills of West Virginia, a fellow named John Kruk was no doubt sitting in some saloon, watching intently Tuesday night, when Johnson sent out a little ``Wish You Were Here'' message to the Krukmeister.

Of course, the Big Unit didn't send that message through the U.S. mail. He sent it with a baseball, aimed approximately nine feet over the head of this year's winner of the John Kruk All-Star Pitch-Alike Contest, Colorado's Larry Walker.

But before we get to the story of that pitch, we need to discuss the story ``behind'' that pitch.

We roll back the tape to Friday, June 13: Mariners vs. Rockies in the Kingdome. Johnson on the mound. Walker nowhere to be found in that Colorado lineup.

Walker cites his desire not to die at home plate in front of friends and family. But despite this eloquent argument for the will to live, controversy rages for weeks.

Then a miracle happens: The people speak. They vote Walker to start in the outfield for the National League in the All-Star Game. Yankees manager Joe Torre then nominates Johnson to start for the American League.

Voila. We've got ourselves a sequel: Johnson vs. Walker right here on national TV in the All-Star Game. What a country.

By Monday, this at-bat was taking on all the trappings of a wrestling pay-per-view event.

Walker said he considered Johnson ``one of my best friends'' in baseball. Johnson retorted: ``I don't think he ever sends me a Christmas card.''

Walker's retort to that retort: ``I keep sending them. He keeps changing his address. . . . What am I supposed to do?''

Walker later said he thought that when Montreal traded Johnson in 1989, it was one of the Expos' biggest mistakes. Johnson's response to that: ``So now he's buttering me up? Same old Larry. He hasn't changed.''

Finally, Walker threatened: ``I might pull a hammy before the game. . . . Uh, just kidding.''

And that brought us to the main event: Top of the second. Two out. Nobody on. Johnson had just buzzed through five straight hitters. And here came Walker.

Johnson reared back and fired. And up went the baseball. And up. And up. In a reprise of Johnson's fabled duel with Kruk in '93, this baseball went directly over Walker's head on its way to join the Mars Pathfinder.

Johnson never changed expressions. Walker did a little double-take. Then he calmly stepped out, turned his batting helmet around catcher-style, and got back in the box - hitting ``right-handed.''

That lasted one pitch - a fastball Walker took for ball two. Then he turned the helmet around, went back to hitting left-handed, and watched three more pitches sail by - for Johnson's first and only walk of the night.

``It was kind of humid out there,'' Johnson suggested later. ``The ball just slipped out of my hand.''

``Yeah, he must have had some sweat on his hand,'' Walker deadpanned.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--color) Cleveland's Sandy Alomar gets a hero's welcome by his teammates after his game-winning home run in the seventh inning.

(2) Cleveland Indians fans were never prouder than when their man, catcher Sandy Alomar, hit one into the left-center-field seats to give the AL a 3-1 victory.

Associated Press