NEW YORK — J.D. Drew wondered whether he’d be pitching soon. Clint Hurdle sounded out David Wright about his mound prowess.

It was the 15th inning of the final All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, and the bullpens were empty. As goodbyes go, this was a long, long one.

“It was just crazy how it seemed like it lasted forever,” Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler said. “It was the last year for Yankee Stadium, the last All-Star game, and it’s kind of fitting that it seemed like it lasted forever.”

Not quite.

Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League a 4-3 victory that extended its unbeaten streak to 12.

In a game that began at dusk Tuesday and ended at 1:37 a.m. Wednesday morning, the grand old ballpark was half-empty when Young stopped a 4-hour, 50-minute marathon on the 453rd pitch. Given the ticket prices — $525-$725 in the lower deck, $150 in the bleachers — fans deserved something extra. They got it.

Many of the 49 Hall of Famers honored during pregame pageantry likely were in bed by the final out. For Boston’s Terry Francona, the AL manager, this took on the stress of a game that counts in the standings.

“I told Jim Leyland, ‘I’ll quit cursing, I’ll quit chewing,”’ he said, referring to the Detroit manager who was part of his coaching staff. “I lied.”

The NL was given a pregame pep talk by Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, whose motto is: “Let’s play two!” And they nearly did, matching the NL’s 2-1 win at Anaheim in 1967 for the longest All-Star game.

Winner Scott Kazmir and loser Brad Lidge were the last available pitchers. Some started to worry this would replicate 2002’s 7-7, 12-inning tie in Milwaukee, which caused the commissioner’s office to expand the rosters.

Drew has reminded Francona that he could pitch in an emergency.

“Just give me a holler out here,” the Red Sox right fielder remembered saying. “After it started to come to fruition, I was a little bit nervous.”

Hurdle sought out Wright, the New York Mets third baseman who was a late addition to the roster as an injury replacement.

“I told David, ‘You were the last pick, I went and got you. Have you ever pitched in an All-Star game?” Hurdle said. “I was doing Chinese arithmetic from the sixth inning on. I felt like I was in algebra class. It got wild.”

The AL improved to 6-0 since the All-Star game began determining home-field advantage in the World Series and 11-0-1 since its 1996 loss in Philadelphia. And it even ended an old hex — the AL had been 0-9-1 in extra innings against its older rival.