MLB ALL-STAR GAME

July 12, 1999

Jeff Bagwell

Nomar Garciaparra

Shawn Green

B.J. Surhoff

SHAWN GREEN: I wish he would have given me a few home runs to start off with. I was a little nervous going in there, I think a lot of us were, but it just made it that much longer of a wait, and as fun as it was to watch, it definitely added to a little bit of the stress.

NOMAR GARCIAPARRA: I felt great. I had an absolute blast. The crowd, hearing the fans, all I was worried about, my goal was to hit one, and I hit two, and it was like, oh, thank God. I figured out I better get out of here, and watch Big Mac and the others take over.

NOMAR GARCIAPARRA: How was it? I felt just like you did, wow. Playing against these guys, seeing what they could do, it was absolutely unbelievable. I like to question a lot of those measurements on some of those balls, I don't think -- I don't think it's 480 to the mast pike. But just like you guys, like I said, we don't only play the game, we're also fans, and it's always fun to watch that.

NOMAR GARCIAPARRA: It was unbelievable, it really is, going up there. I was nervous, without a doubt but it's also kind of a nice, warm feeling when you just hear the crowd behind like that. And I'm sure you saw my face with a smile from ear to ear, and it still hasn't left me. It was just something special.

JEFF BAGWELL: Well, it was great. Obviously coming back here, a place I always dreamed about playing, obviously it was a big thrill to me. Standing and hitting a ball over the Green Monster, and everything I dreamed about as a kid, I had a great time.

JEFF BAGWELL: I played a college All-Star Game here, but there was like 1,200 people there at that game, a little different.

BJ SURHOFF: Well, I was supposed to hit after Mac, and I made Shawn go, made sure I wasn't going to get in the way. I was ecstatic to be there. I felt real good and was real happy to hit a couple of balls out. It was a great experience, and I think these type of experiences that you look back and you'll draw on, when it comes to the season and getting in tight situations.

JEFF BAGWELL: Obviously it was tough at the time. I was perfectly happy where I was. I was in Double-A and making my progression, hopefully going Triple-A next year to get traded. But I learned at an early age, that's baseball, and it's a business. It turned out to be the best thing that could ever happen to me, who knows what would happen if I stayed with the organization. And now it turns out I played a while in the Big Leagues and I'm in Houston.

NOMAR GARCIAPARRA: No, I don't know. I don't know what to expect. I kind of go out there and just take it all in as it comes. But I tell you what, me smiling, it will still be there tomorrow.

End of FastScripts….