LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 03: A sign for the MLB All-Star game at Dodger Stadium on June 03, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The MLB All-Star Game will take place on July 19th this season, who will make the two squads?
The All-Star Game, commonly referred to as the Midsummer Classic, is a one-off event where Major League Baseball’s very best players face off. The best of the American League take on the best of the National League.
From 2003-2016, the ASG winner determined which club would receive home-field advantage to begin the World Series at the end of the season. Nowadays, that neat rule is no more and the home-field advantage is instead awarded to the team that finished with a higher winning percentage in the regular season.
After COVID cancelled the 2020 ASG, last year’s event was back and better than ever as the AL topped the NL for the eighth consecutive season, winning the game 5-2 and posting nine hits against the eight for the NL.
The starting position players are selected to the All-Star Game rosters via fan vote and there is a fair share of near-locks to make the game based off of popularity alone. The pitchers are selected by the managers, a move that brings a bit more statistical analysis into the voting and the reserves are selected by managers and fellow players.
MLB All-Star Game predictions
This year’s All-Star Game festivities will be taking place at none other than Dodger Stadium, one of the premier venues in the game. This is the fourth time the Dodgers have hosted the game and second at the current Dodger Stadium.
Last year, a whopping 40 players were elected to the All-Star Game (setting a new MLB record) for the first time in their careers including superstars Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Shohei Ohtani.
Who will be in the running to make their first All-Star Game this year? Let’s take a look at the best players in the league and make some predictions…