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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (òòò½ÊÓƵ News) òòò½ÊÓƵ” The save in Tuesday night's Major League All-Star Game won by the American League, 3-2, was awarded to Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians and the history books will forever show that.

But the real save belonged to the former West Virginia right-hander Alek Manoah, who has dominated from the mound ever since he was called up in the middle of last season.

It was Manoah, with a helping hand from the wit and wisdom of New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, who saved the game from going down as one of the most boring in history despite the cast of millionaire players.

And he did it, not with the talented arm that allowed him to strike out the side in work in the second inning, but with the byplay he allowed America to eavesdrop on as he was his overpowering self.

Baseball has deteriorated to the point that it's Midsummer Classic, as it likes to be known, had to be saved by the Home Run Derby that was held on Monday night, and by Fox's innovative technological intrusion of wiring players with a microphone and earpiece so they could converse with Joe Davis and Hall of Fame reliever John Smoltz in the broadcast booth.

Equally as good as Manoah's inning was the inning when they wired Yankees' catcher Jose Trevino later in the game, the two being both witty, informative and far more entertaining the game itself.

And it wasn't that baseball didn't understand that it's game has slid to the point where it needed such an infusion of real entertainment, for it actually planned the decided matters if the game ended in a tie in a home run derby format.

That, of course, is the ultimate admission that the game itself as it is played today is incapable of producing the entertainment that America seeks.

But back to Manoah, whose broadcast performance was as captivating as his pitching performance was overpowering.

For an idea of how it went we pick it up after Manoah had struck out Willson Contreras and Joc Pederson before getting ahead of Mets' second baseman Jeff McNeil.

"You going to strike out the side in the All-Star Game?" Davis said to Manoah.

"What do you want me to do it on, John?" Manoah says, talking to Smoltz.

"Back-foot slider," Smoltz replies. "Down low."

"Oh, you're sexy. Here we go," says Manoah as he goes into his delivery.

Turns out Manoah throws a "front foot slider: and hits McNeil, who goes toward first base as Manoah says:

"My bad," says Manoah. "I should have stuck with the heater."

Now he has to face the dangerous Atlanta Braves outfielder Rafael Acuna.

"I didn't read the scouting reports," the free-spirited Manoah admits. "You guys know the scouting report on this guy? I know he hits ball far."

"First pitch fastball hitter," Smoltz sys.

Strike one.

"Is this the first time you faced Acuna?" Davis asked.

"Yeah," says Manoah, turning toward the plate and shouting into the hitter "Hey, what's up, bro?'"

Acuna answers in Spanish and Manoah said, 'I'm not sure what he said back."

Strike two.

Now Smoltz asks Manoah what he's going to throw, suggesting a slider "and make it disappear off the outside corner."

"I'm thinking slider, too, but I'm thinking if I can get a good heater up .. he's seen the slider twice. It might throw him off a little bit. That's what I'm going to throw," Manoah says.

He throws the fast ball but misses his spot badly. However, his reasoning was right and froze Acuna, who took strike three.

"Right down the middle, but we'll take it," shouts Manoah, arms raised and bouncing off the mound. "Three punches! Let's gooooo! Woooooo! That's a helluva bullpen right there. Let's win the ball game."

There was a lot more, but you get the drift. The one thing about baseball that hasn't changed is that the intrigue, the strategy, the characters that play the game are what offer up the charm of the game ... and Fox let you in on what it was all about.