CLEVELAND (AP) - Sandy Alomar looked out the window as snow fell inside Progressive Field and vividly recalled a warm July night 20 years ago.
"The best moment of my life," he said.
A six-time All-Star catcher, Alomar was feeling nostalgic on Friday as baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced the 2019 All-Star Game will be played in Cleveland. The 90th mid-summer classic will be the sixth in Cleveland, the first since 1997.
The last time the event was held in Cleveland, Alomar connected for a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning to propel the American League to a 3-1 win.
Manfred was back in Cleveland for the first time since the fall, when the Indians and Chicago Cubs completed a captivating World Series with a dramatic Game 7 that went to extra innings.
Manfred said baseball was impressed with Cleveland's bid - part of a five-year process - to host the All-Star Game, which continues a great run for the city. In June, Cleveland celebrated the Cavaliers winning the NBA championship and a month later hosted the Republican National Convention, an event that ran without a hitch despite security concerns.
"I'm vaguely aware that they play other sports here in Cleveland," Manfred quipped. "But we were here in October for the World Series and I know one thing for sure, Cleveland is a baseball town and it will be a great host."
The city also hosted the All-Stars in 1935, 1954, 1963 and 1981.
"We see ourselves as the All-Star city," Indians owner Paul Dolan said.
Manfred said Cleveland's bid was boosted by recent renovations the Indians have made at Progressive Field, which was called Jacobs Field in '97 and will turn 25 in 2019. The club has created open viewing areas, upgraded concessions and improved its entrances.
"It has to be significant in selecting All-Star Games," Manfred said. "You want a ballpark that showcases the game, and I think that, both when originally constructed and in the way it has been maintained an improved, Progressive Field fills that bill."
Landing the All-Star Game and its other activities, including the Home Run Derby, continues a baseball renaissance in Cleveland as the Indians are again champions and the club has seen a significant bump in ticket sales since free agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion was signed this winter.