No. 7: Dan Uggla’s ugly night fielding in NYC
Leading up to the July 11 MLB All-Star Game in Miami, we’re counting down the 10 most memorable All-Star moments in Marlins history. Year: 2008 at Yankee Stadium, New York Result: AL 4, NL 3 (15 innings)
Notable: Dan Uggla’s second trip to the All-Star Game was memorable for the wrong reasons as the Marlins second baseman became the first player to make three errors in the game.
How it happened: Uggla, who was selected as a reserve based on his offensive prowess (at the break he was batting .286 with 23 home runs and 59 RBI), replaced starter Chase Utley in the bottom of the sixth. It would be a rough night at the plate as he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. But it was Uggla’s misadventures in the field that were truly cringe-worthy and brought expressions of sympathy from fellow All-Stars. Uggla didn’t have a groundball hit to him until the 10th inning, when he missed Michael Young’s leadoff grounder. The next pitch, Carlos Quentin hit an easy grounder to him, and he botched it for another error. Uggla redeemed himself somewhat two
batters later when, with the infield drawn in, he fielded Grady Sizemore’s grounder and threw home for a forceout. But as the longest All-Star Game (4 hours, 50 minutes) dragged on, a group of fans started chanting, “Hit the ball to Uggla.” In the 13th inning, J.D. Drew hit a bouncer Uggla’s way that took a sharp hop and hit off his glove for the record-breaking third error. “He had a couple of hops that just ate him up. It’s just one of those days,” Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said. “I’m sure he’ll be a little bit bitter.” For his part, Uggla handled the aftermath better than he did anything at bat or in the field. After the game, which didn’t end until 1:38 a.m., he stood by his locker and patiently fielded a steady stream questions, some of them rather pointed. “I’m not going to lie,” Uggla said. “Sometimes it’s not your night. Tonight wasn’t my night. But you move forward and take those. No excuses.” — CraigDavis PREVIOUSLY IN THE COUNTDOWN: No. 10: Dontrelle Willis gets left out in Chicago No. 9: Hanley Ramirez’s strong All-Star start No. 8: Lowell, Castillo and the game that ended in a tie