Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The
Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" or "Midsummer Night Classic", is an annual
baseball game between players from the
National League and the
American League, currently selected by fan vote for the starting position players and by the
manager for
pitchers and reserve players. The All-Star Game usually occurs in early to mid-July and marks the symbolic halfway point in the Major League Baseball (MLB) season (though not the mathematical halfway point; in most seasons, the game actually takes place after about 55% of the season has been completed), and since 2003 it has been used to determine home field advantage for the upcoming
World Series.
The first All-Star Game was held as part of the
1933 World's Fair in
Chicago,
Illinois, and was the brainchild of Arch Ward, then sports editor for
The Chicago Tribune. Initially intended to be a one-time event, its great success resulted in making the game an annual one.
The venue is chosen by Major League Baseball and traditionally alternates between the two leagues every year (this tradition was first broken in
1951, when the
Detroit Tigers were chosen to host the annual game as part of the city's 250th birthday at
Briggs Stadium, and will be broken again in
2007, when the
San Francisco Giants will be the host for the 2007 All-Star Game. Another NL team, the
Pittsburgh Pirates, hosted the
2006 event. The "home team" is the league in which the host franchise plays its games. The criteria for choosing the venue are subjective; for the most part, cities with new parks and cities who have not hosted the game in a long time (or never before for teams that came into being in the
1990s) tend to get the nod. In
2005,
Comerica Park, the new home of the Tigers, hosted the Midsummer Classic for the first time, the city of Detroit having last hosted the game in
1971. The last All-Star Game to be played in a stadium that was not hosting its first All-Star Game was the
1999 game in
Boston's
Fenway Park. To date, only three franchises have never hosted a game: the
Florida Marlins, the
Arizona Diamondbacks, and the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (the
Washington Nationals hosted the game when they were the
Montreal Expos). The city of Washington hosted the All-Star Game in 1969 when the
Texas Rangers franchise was in Washington.
The
designated hitter rule is applied based on the league in which the host team plays. In an American League ballpark, both teams use a designated hitter to hit for the pitcher. In a National League ballpark, lineups schedule the pitcher to hit, though
pinch hitters are almost always used. The last instance in which a pitcher took his scheduled at-bat was in 2004, as the American League lineup batted around (viz., sent all nine members of the starting lineup to bat at least once in one inning) the National League starting pitcher,
Roger Clemens, in the first inning, enabling AL starter
Mark Mulder to bat (Clemens struck him out). He was not eligible to be replaced by a pinch hitter, as the starting pitcher in any game must pitch to the first spot in the batting order. [
1]
The manager for each league's team has for many years been the manager of the previous year's league champion. Note that this honor is applied to the person, not the team, so it's possible that the All-Star manager could no longer be with the team he won with, as happened in
2003, when
Dusty Baker managed the National League team despite having moved from the champion San Francisco Giants to the
Chicago Cubs in the offseason (however, Baker had at least moved to a different team in the same league. If he had switched to an American League team, or left baseball entirely, his eligibility to manage the All-Star Game would have been in question. There is some precedent for the later scenario: on two separate occasions,
Bob Lemon managed the American League team after having been fired by
New York Yankees owner
George Steinbrenner). The coaching staff is selected by the manager.
Each team consists of 32 players, selected in one of the following ways, listed in order:
*
Fan voting: Baseball fans vote on the starting position players for the All-Star Game, with ballots distributed at baseball games before mid-season and, more recently, on the
Internet. When the game is played at an American League park, the designated hitter for the AL team is also selected in this manner.
*
Player voting: As of 2005, pitchers and one back-up player for each position are elected by the other players. If the top vote-getter at a certain position is also being voted in via fan voting, then the second-place finisher in this category is chosen for the team.
*
Manager selection (first): The manager and the
Commissioner's Office will fill the roster up to 31 players.
*
Final vote: After the lists of 31 players for each league is announced, fans will vote for one additional player, chosen from a list of 5 players provided by the manager and the Commissioner's Office.
*
Manager selection (second): After the final vote, the manager and the Commissioner's Office will replace players who are injured or declined to participate. Each major league team is guaranteed to have at least one player selected to participate, though single players from poor teams are occasionally not used (
Mark Redman of the
Kansas City Royals was the last to be selected and was not be put into the game by the manager).
Between 1935 and 1946, the manager of each All-Star squad selected the entire team. Fans received the right to vote on the eight starters (excluding the pitcher) starting in
1947. In
1957, fans of the
Cincinnati Reds stuffed the ballot box as a result of a promotion by a local newspaper which printed pre-marked ballots, and elected a Red to every position except first base. Commissioner
Ford Frick stepped in and removed two Reds from the lineup. As a response to this fiasco, the right to elect the non-pitching starters was taken away from the fans until 1970. From 1958 through 1969, players, coaches, and managers made the choices.
One of the most controversial aspects of the player selection process is a rule that each team has to have at least one representative on its league's All-Star roster. While this rule made sense in baseball's pre-expansion days, when there were only eight teams in each league, many now consider it to be outdated since there are now almost twice as many Major League teams in existence. Opponents of the rule contend that the purpose of the game is to spotlight MLB's best players, and many superior players get left off the roster in favor of less deserving players from weaker teams. Supporters of the rule maintain that if the rule were dropped, a small number of powerful teams could end up dominating most of the available roster space. Also, supporters of the rule say that it gives fans from every team (even the poor teams) a reason to watch the game-the reason being that if the game were dominated only by players from a few top teams many fans wouldn't watch because they wouldn't have a favorite or familiar player to follow.
A number of compromises have been suggested, such as limiting the number of representatives a particular team could have, or requiring that a certain percentage of teams be represented. However, Major League Baseball has not indicated that it is considering altering or eliminating the rule in any form.
At
Fenway Park in
Boston on
July 31,
1961, the first All-Star Game tie in history occurred when the game was stopped in the 9th inning due to rain.
Following a highly controversial situation in the
2002 game when both teams ran out of pitchers in the 11th inning, and in response Commissioner
Bud Selig declared the game over, Major League Baseball changed the rules to give the All-Star game "meaning" and additional incentive for victory. From the
2003 season up to the present, the league that won the All-Star Game was to be given home-field advantage for the
World Series (something Selig is considering ending, as the AL is unbeaten in every All-Star Game since 1997). Previously, home field advantage in the World Series alternated between the two leagues each year.
Even under the new rules, there is no guarantee that a repeat of the 2002 situation might not occur. The game could still be called a "suspended game" in which case it would become a tie if no make-up date was scheduled. It would be extremely difficult to find such a make-up date: Major League Baseball would have to postpone one or more days of the regular season and/or schedule the make-up date on the travel day between the regular season and the
Division Series. Also, one team or the other could alternatively forfeit the game by refusing to continue (see: Major League Baseball's "Official Rules: 4.00 Starting and Ending a Game"). [
2]
*In
1945, with severe
wartime travel restrictions in effect, the All-Star Game scheduled to be played at Boston's Fenway Park was canceled.
*There were two All-Star Games played each season from
1959 to
1962. The second game was added to raise money for the
players'
pension funds, as well as other causes.
*Of the eighteen players who started the
1934 All-Star Game, only one,
Wally Berger, is not in the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
*The
1981 game in
Cleveland was moved from its original July date to Sunday night,
August 9. It was the first non-exhibition game played after the end of the
players' strike, with second half play beginning the next afternoon with a game in
Wrigley Field in Chicago. The 1981 game is the only game to be played on a weekend.
*In
1995, because of the
players' strike in 1994, the managers of the unofficial league champions (by best record), who were each rewarded as winners of the
Manager of the Year Award, were awarded the right to manage the 1995 teams -- Montreal's
Felipe Alou and the Yankees'
Buck Showalter.
1947 was the first year that baseball allowed fans to vote for the starters on the All-Star team.
In
1957, fans of the
Cincinnati Reds stuffed the
ballot box and elected 7 Reds players to start in the All-Star Game. They were:
Johnny Temple, 2B:
Roy McMillan, SS:
Don Hoak, 3B:
Ed Bailey, C:
Frank Robinson, LF:
Gus Bell, CF:
Wally Post, RF
The only non-Red elected to start for the National League was
St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman
Stan Musial. While the Reds were known to be a great offensive team with many outstanding position players, most baseball observers agreed that they did not deserve seven starters in the All-Star Game. An investigation showed that over half of the ballots cast came from Cincinnati. The
Cincinnati Enquirer had printed up pre-marked ballots and distributed them with the Sunday newspaper to make it easy to vote early and often. There were even stories of bars in Cincinnati not serving
alcohol to customers until they filled out a ballot.
Commissioner Ford Frick decided to appoint
Willie Mays of the
New York Giants and
Hank Aaron of the
Milwaukee Braves to substitute for Reds players
Gus Bell and
Wally Post. In addition, Frick decided to strip the fans of their voting rights. Managers, players, and coaches picked the entire team again until
1969, when the vote again returned to the fans.
To guard against further ballot stuffing, since 1969, each team has been given the same number of ballots to hand out. In
1998, that number was roughly 400,000 ballots. Since the dawn of the internet age, online voting has again raised fears of ballot stuffing. Yet Major League Baseball assures its fans that they have taken precautions to guard against this.
Since
1985, the
Home Run Derby, a contest between
home run hitters, has been played on the day before the All-Star Game. Also, a celebrity
softball game is held the day before the Home Run Derby. The teams are usually a mixture of former stars from the host team's past, plus some celebrities from music, film, and television. Since
1999, the
All-Star Futures Game has been held during All Star weekend. The two teams, one consisting of young players from the
United States and the other consisting of young players from all other nations, are usually chosen based on prospect status in the
minor leagues.
| Year | Winner | Score | Venue/Host team | MVP |
|---|
| 1933 | American | 4-2 | Comiskey Park, Chicago White Sox | |
| 1934 | American | 9-7 | Polo Grounds, New York Giants | |
| 1935 | American | 4-1 | Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians | |
| 1936 | National | 4-3 | Braves Field, Boston Braves | |
| 1937 | American | 8-3 | Griffith Stadium, Washington Senators | |
| 1938 | National | 4-1 | Crosley Field, Cincinnati Reds | |
| 1939 | American | 3-1 | Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees | |
| 1940 | National | 4-0 | Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Cardinals | |
| 1941 | American | 7-5 | Briggs Stadium, Detroit Tigers | |
| 1942 | American | 3-1 | Polo Grounds, New York Giants | |
| 1943 | American | 5-3 | Shibe Park, Philadelphia Athletics | |
| 1944 | National | 7-1 | Forbes Field, Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| 1945 | Not held. |
| 1946 | American | 12-0 | Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox | |
| 1947 | American | 2-1 | Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs | |
| 1948 | American | 5-2 | Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Browns | |
1949 | American | 11-7 | Ebbets Field, Brooklyn Dodgers | | | 1950 | National | 4-3
(14 innings) | Comiskey Park, Chicago White Sox | |
| 1951 | National | 8-3 | Briggs Stadium, Detroit Tigers | |
| 1952 | National | 3-2
(5 innings, rain) | Shibe Park, Philadelphia Phillies | |
| 1953 | National | 5-1 | Crosley Field, Cincinnati Reds | |
| 1954 | American | 11-9 | Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians | |
| 1955 | National | 6-5
(12 innings) | County Stadium, Milwaukee Braves | |
| 1956 | National | 7-3 | Griffith Stadium, Washington Senators | |
| | 1957 | American | 6-5 | Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Cardinals | |
| 1958 | American | 4-3 | Memorial Stadium, Baltimore Orioles | |
| 1959-a | National | 5-4 | Forbes Field, Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| 1959-b | American | 5-3 | Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| | 1960-a | National | 5-3 | Municipal Stadium, Kansas City Athletics | |
| 1960-b | National | 6-0 | Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees | |
| 1961-a | National | 5-4
(10 innings) | Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants | |
| 1961-b | TIE
rain | 1-1
(9 innings, rain) | Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox | |
| 1962-a | National | 3-1 | D.C. Stadium, Washington Senators | Maury Wills, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1962-b | American | 9-4 | Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs | Leon Wagner, Los Angeles (AL) |
| 1963 | National | 5-3 | Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians | Willie Mays, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1964 | National | 7-4 | Shea Stadium, New York Mets | Johnny Callison, Philadelphia (NL) |
| 1965 | National | 6-5 | Metropolitan Stadium, Minnesota Twins | Juan Marichal, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1966 | National | 2-1
(10 innings) | Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis Cardinals | Brooks Robinson, Baltimore (AL) |
| 1967 | National | 2-1
(15 innings) | Anaheim Stadium, California Angels | Tony Perez, Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1968 | National | 1-0 | Astrodome, Houston Astros | Willie Mays, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1969 | National | 9-3 | RFK Stadium, Washington Senators | Willie McCovey, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1970 | National | 5-4
(12 innings) | Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Reds | Carl Yastrzemski, Boston (AL) |
| 1971 | American | 6-4 | Tiger Stadium, Detroit Tigers | Frank Robinson, Baltimore (AL) |
| 1972 | National | 4-3
(10 innings) | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta Braves | Joe Morgan, Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1973 | National | 7-1 | Royals Stadium, Kansas City Royals | Bobby Bonds, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1974 | National | 7-2 | Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh Pirates | Steve Garvey, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1975 | National | 6-3 | County Stadium, Milwaukee Brewers | Jon Matlack, New York (NL)
Bill Madlock, Chicago (NL) |
| 1976 | National | 7-1 | Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia Phillies | George Foster, Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1977 | National | 7-5 | Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees | Don Sutton, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1978 | National | 7-3 | San Diego Stadium, San Diego Padres | Steve Garvey, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1979 | National | 7-6 | Kingdome, Seattle Mariners | Dave Parker, Pittsburgh (NL) |
| 1980 | National | 4-2 | Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles Dodgers | Ken Griffey, Sr., Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1981 | National | 5-4 | Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland Indians | Gary Carter, Montreal (NL) |
| 1982 | National | 4-1 | Olympic Stadium, Montreal Expos | Dave Concepcion, Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1983 | American | 13-3 | Comiskey Park, Chicago White Sox | Fred Lynn, California (AL) |
| 1984 | National | 3-1 | Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants | Gary Carter, Montreal (NL) |
| 1985 | National | 6-1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minnesota Twins | LaMarr Hoyt, San Diego (NL) |
| 1986 | American | 3-2 | Astrodome, Houston Astros | Roger Clemens, Boston (AL) |
| 1987 | National | 2-0
(13 innings) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland Athletics | Tim Raines, Montreal (NL) |
| 1988 | American | 2-1 | Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Reds | Terry Steinbach, Oakland (AL) |
| 1989 | American | 5-3 | Anaheim Stadium, California Angels | Bo Jackson, Kansas City (AL) |
| 1990 | American | 2-0 | Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs | Julio Franco, Texas (AL) |
| 1991 | American | 4-2 | SkyDome, Toronto Blue Jays | Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore (AL) |
| 1992 | American | 13-6 | Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego Padres | Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle (AL) |
| 1993 | American | 9-3 | Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore Orioles | Kirby Puckett, Minnesota (AL) |
| 1994 | National | 8-7
(10 innings) | Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh Pirates | Fred McGriff, Atlanta (NL) |
| 1995 | National | 3-2 | The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas Rangers | Jeff Conine, Florida (NL) |
| 1996 | National | 6-0 | Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia Phillies | Mike Piazza, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1997 | American | 3-1 | Jacobs Field, Cleveland Indians | Sandy Alomar, Cleveland (AL) |
| 1998 | American | 13-8 | Coors Field, Colorado Rockies | Roberto Alomar, Baltimore (AL) |
| 1999 | American | 4-1 | Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox | Pedro MartÃnez, Boston (AL) |
| 2000 | American | 6-3 | Turner Field, Atlanta Braves | Derek Jeter, New York (AL) |
| 2001 | American | 4-1 | Safeco Field, Seattle Mariners | Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore (AL) |
| 2002 | TIE
insufficient players | 7-7
(11 innings) | Miller Park, Milwaukee Brewers | none |
| 2003 | American | 7-6 | U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago White Sox | Garret Anderson, Anaheim (AL) |
| 2004 | American | 9-4 | Minute Maid Park, Houston Astros | Alfonso Soriano, Texas (AL) |
| 2005 | American | 7-5 | Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers | Miguel Tejada, Baltimore (AL) |
| 2006 | American | 3-2 | PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates | Michael Young, Texas (AL) |
| 2007 | TBD | TBD | AT&T Park, San Francisco Giants | TBD |
77 All-Star Games have been played, with the National League winning 40 and the American League winning 35 (there were 2 ties). The National League has the longest winning streak of 11 games from 1972-1982.
Among the cities in the running for 2008's All-Star Game are
Anaheim (whose stadium was so completely transformed in the late 1990s and early 2000s that some people almost consider it a whole new entity),
New York (2008 will most likely be the historic stadium's last season), as the new Yankee Stadium is predicted to open in 2009, so the 2008 All-Star Game could be a historic send off for the Stadium [
3]),
Tampa Bay,
Minnesota, and
Toronto. Commissioner Selig said during the 2005 All-Star Break that the 2008 game will definitely go to an American League city. His statement would put the cities of
Phoenix,
Washington,
Cincinnati,
St. Louis, and
San Diego in position for a run at the 2009 All-Star Game. It is likely that Minnesota will not be selected for the 2008 All-Star Game so that the 2010 ASG can be held in the Twins' then-brand new
ballpark scheduled to open that season, replacing the aging
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
Commissioner Bud Selig recently announced that
Kauffman Stadium in
Kansas City will likely host an All-Star Game sometime between 2010 and 2014. He also said that the earliest an All-Star Game likely could be held at
Chase Field, the
Arizona Diamondbacks home stadium, would be 2011, when the ballpark will be 13 years old. This is because
St. Louis, with its new
Busch Stadium and adjacent Ballpark Village, is the favorite to host in 2009. [
4]
The
New York Mets could also host the All-Star Game around this time or after because of their new
park scheduled to open in 2009. This would make years following logical. The Yankees could also host an All-Star Game around then because their new
stadium is also scheduled to open in 2009, as previously mentioned. However, if they hosted the 2008 All-Star Game as a send-off to old Yankee Stadium, a return so quickly to New York might not be good, so it could possibly be the 2020s before the Yankees host again if they host in 2008. However, if they didn't host in 2008, they would also be a logical choice in upcoming years.
*
List of Major League Baseball All-Star Game broadcasters*
Major League Baseball All-Star Games in Pittsburgh*
BaseballLibrary.com - All-Star Game*
All-Star Games by Baseball Almanac : A Midsummer Classic Analysis*
Major League Baseball : Events : All-Star Game
