Zack Greinke's lockdown pitching during the bottom of the fourth inning of tonight's All-Star game made me wonder: When was the last time a Royal looked great in an All-Star game? Of course Bo Jackson's epic home run to lead off the 1989 All-Star game comes to mind. Royals Review helpfully offers a brief history of Royal participation in the All-Star game over the past decade.
- 2008: Joakim Soria named, pitched one and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief.
- 2007: Gil Meche named, did not play.
- 2006: Mark Redman named, did not play.
- 2005: Mike Sweeney named, struck out as a pinch-hitter in the 7th.
- 2004: Ken Harvey named, struck out as a pinch-hitter in the 3rd.
- 2003: Mike MacDougal and Sweeney named, neither appeared.
- 2002: Mike Sweeney named, replaced Paul Konerko at 1B in the 7th inning, flied out to right in the 9th inning.
- 2001: Mike Sweeney named, replaced Jason Giambi at first in the 8th inning, flied out to right in the 8th inning.
- 2000: Jermaine Dye voted to start, Mike Sweeney named. Sweeney pinch-hit for James Baldwin in the 4th, reaching on an error. Sweeney did not appear in the field. Dye walked once and struck out.
Yeah, not so illustrious.