49 Fun Facts About MLB All-Star Game

By what nickname is the MLB All-Star Game commonly known?

The Midsummer Classic was planned as a one-time event in 1933, but it drew so well that the leagues made it an annual fixture.

Which Chicago Tribune sports editor came up with the idea for the first All-Star Game?

Arch Ward won over wary club owners by pledging the gate to a charity for needy former players, then plugged the game in his paper day after day.

Where was the first All-Star Game played on July 6, 1933?

Comiskey Park, Chicago, got the game because it was dreamed up as a sporting attraction for the city's 1933 World's Fair, and more than 47,000 fans came.

Which Yankee hit a two-run homer to highlight the first All-Star Game in 1933?

Babe Ruth was, as the opposing starter recalled, old by then and thick in the waist, yet he hit the first home run in All-Star Game history.

What did the Chicago Tribune call the first All-Star contest in 1933?

The Game of the Century was staged for a world's fair called the Century of Progress, and 55 newspapers printed ballots so that fans could pick the starters.

Which Giants pitcher struck out five future Hall of Famers in a row in the 1934 All-Star Game?

Carl Hubbell had put the first two batters on base before his screwball took over: Ruth, Gehrig and Foxx struck out in the first inning, Simmons and Cronin in the second.

Which two-sport star led off the 1989 All-Star Game with a towering home run and was named MVP?

Bo Jackson, an NFL star as well, drove Rick Reuschel's pitch over the centre-field fence to open the home half of the first inning, then stole a base in the second.

Which pair became the first brothers to play in the same All-Star Game, in 1941?

Joe and Dom DiMaggio combined at once: Dom, of the rival Red Sox, singled home his Yankee brother in his first trip to the plate.

Why was no All-Star Game held in 1945?

Wartime travel restrictions scrapped the official game, so clubs stayed close to home that week and played interleague exhibitions for war charities instead.

Why were there two All-Star Games each season from 1959 to 1962?

To fund player pensions: the second game was dropped after 1962, once owners agreed to give players a bigger share of the income from a single one.

Which fan base stuffed the 1957 ballot box and elected seven of its own players to start?

Cincinnati Reds fans were handed pre-marked ballots with their newspaper, and the only outsider voted into the National League lineup was the Cardinals' first baseman.

Which commissioner pulled two fan-elected starters from the 1957 All-Star lineup after ballot stuffing and ended the fan vote?

Ford Frick put Willie Mays and Hank Aaron in for the two players he removed, and fans did not vote for the starters again until 1970.

Which Dodgers first baseman reached the 1974 All-Star Game as a write-in and then won its MVP award?

Steve Garvey wasn't even listed on the ballot, yet fans wrote him into the lineup and he ended the season as the league's MVP too; Rico Carty had been the first write-in starter in 1970.

Pete Rose scored the winning run of the 1970 All-Star Game by bowling over which catcher?

Ray Fosse was waiting for the throw when Rose barrelled into him in the twelfth inning, and the catcher played on with a shoulder later found to be fractured and separated.

Which ballpark had been open for barely two weeks when it hosted the 1970 All-Star Game?

Riverfront Stadium had staged its first game only on June 30, and President Nixon was on hand to throw the first pitch at the All-Star Game a fortnight later.

How did all ten runs score in the 1971 All-Star Game?

Every one came on a homer, six in all and each by a future Hall of Famer, and the barrage handed the American League its first All-Star win since 1962.

Whose 1983 grand slam was still the only one in All-Star Game history as of 2026?

Fred Lynn came up with the bases full only because the manager had ordered Robin Yount walked intentionally to get to him, and the slam capped a seven-run inning.

Why was the 1983 All-Star Game played on a Wednesday instead of the usual Tuesday?

It was a 50th anniversary: July 6, 1983 fell fifty years to the day after the first All-Star Game, and the American League marked it with a 13-3 rout after eleven straight defeats.

Why was the 1981 All-Star Game moved from July to August?

A players' strike wiped out the middle of the season, so the game became the curtain-raiser for the restart and drew a record crowd of 72,086 in Cleveland.

What made its All-Star Game debut in 1989?

The designated hitter had been an American League rule since 1973, yet All-Star pitchers went on batting for 16 more years, and until 2010 the DH appeared only when an AL park hosted.

Who hit the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history, in 2007?

Ichiro Suzuki's drive took a freak hop off the right-field wall in San Francisco and skipped away from Ken Griffey Jr.; it was the first inside-the-park homer of his professional career.

Who became the first pitcher to open an All-Star Game by striking out the side, in 1999?

Pedro Martínez, pitching in his own ballpark, struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker and Sammy Sosa in the first inning, then got Mark McGwire to open the second.

Who switched to third base in 2001 so Cal Ripken Jr. could play shortstop one last time?

Alex Rodriguez, voted in at shortstop, waved the reluctant Ripken over from third base before the first pitch, and Ripken later homered on the first pitch he saw.

Why was the 2002 All-Star Game stopped as a tie?

No pitchers left: both teams ran out after 11 innings, and the crowd in Commissioner Bud Selig's home city booed the decision and threw debris onto the field.

What did the winning All-Star league receive from 2003 to 2016?

Home-field advantage in the World Series was added to give players a reason to win after the 2002 game ended tied; since 2017 it has gone to the pennant winner with the better record.

Which 2008 Marlins second baseman committed a record three errors in one All-Star Game?

Dan Uggla made two of them on consecutive plays in the tenth inning, helping to load the bases with nobody out, and the National League still escaped without giving up a run.

Which ballpark hosted a 15-inning All-Star Game in 2008, its final season?

Yankee Stadium was given the game as a send-off before it closed, and the farewell ran 4 hours 50 minutes, the longest All-Star Game ever by the clock.

Which Cardinals pitcher hinted he grooved pitches to Derek Jeter in the 2014 All-Star Game?

Adam Wainwright said he had meant to give the retiring Yankee 'a couple of pipe shots', then insisted he had been joking after Jeter doubled on his second pitch.

Which team's players at one point led the 2015 All-Star vote at eight American League positions?

Kansas City Royals players led at eight of nine positions at one point, in a year when MLB cancelled more than 60 million ballots on suspicion of fraud, and four of them were still voted in as starters.

What made the AL's turn as home team in the 2016 All-Star Game unusual?

It was played in an NL park, San Diego's Petco Park: with National League cities hosting several years running, MLB let the American League bat last for balance.

The 2021 All-Star Game was moved from Atlanta to which city?

Denver stepped in after MLB pulled the game from Atlanta in response to a new Georgia election law; Atlanta finally got to host four years later, in 2025.

Which American League starter was the winning pitcher of the 2021 All-Star Game?

Shohei Ohtani also led off as the designated hitter, the first All-Star to start in both roles, and MLB bent its rules so that he could keep batting after leaving the mound.

Who hit the 200th home run in All-Star Game history in 2021 and was named MVP?

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stood and admired the 468-foot drive, said afterwards that 'dreams come true', and at 22 became the youngest MVP the game has had.

Since 2022, how is an All-Star Game tied after nine innings settled?

A home run swing-off gives three hitters a side three swings each; agreed in 2022 to spare pitchers extra innings, it went unused until the 2025 game finished level.

Who was named MVP of the 2025 All-Star Game after going hitless through nine innings?

Kyle Schwarber had not had a hit all night, yet once the game stood level after nine he connected three times running to turn defeat into a National League win.

As of 2026, which team was the only current MLB club never to have hosted an All-Star Game?

The Tampa Bay Rays, who began play in 1998, are still waiting: the game tends to go to clubs with a new ballpark or a long gap since their last turn.

As of 2026, which city had hosted the most All-Star Games, nine across five different stadiums?

New York piled up its nine because for decades the city had three clubs, the Yankees, Giants and Dodgers, each taking a turn as host before the Mets arrived.

Since 1934, who manages each league's All-Star team?

The previous year's pennant-winning manager keeps the job even after changing clubs: Dusty Baker ran the 2003 National League squad as a Cub, having won the pennant with the Giants.

Which retiring closer was named MVP of the 2013 All-Star Game after pitching a perfect eighth inning?

Mariano Rivera came in to a standing ovation from the crowd and from the players in both dugouts, then retired all three batters he faced.

Under All-Star selection rules, what must each league's roster include?

A player from every team must be chosen, which can put a struggling club's lone star on the squad ahead of a contender's fifth; a pick who withdraws need not be replaced from his own club.

The All-Star Game MVP award has been formally named after which player since 2002?

Ted Williams had died earlier that year, and the first game played under the new name ended in a tie with no MVP chosen, so the first Ted Williams award waited until 2003.

Which speedster ran his way to the first All-Star Game MVP award in 1962?

Maury Wills came on as a pinch runner, stole second and scored the game's first run, then later went from first to third on a short single and came home on a foul fly.

As of 2026, who was the only player to win All-Star Game MVP in back-to-back years?

Mike Trout won in 2014 with a double and a triple, then opened the 2015 game with a home run; four other players have won twice, none in successive years.

Who was selected for a record 25 All-Star Games?

Hank Aaron was an All-Star in 21 seasons, and four of them, 1959 to 1962, had two games each, which is how he reached 25 selections.

As of 2026, who had hit the most home runs in All-Star Game history, with six?

Stan Musial hit the most famous of his six in 1955, leading off the bottom of the twelfth inning and ending the game on the first pitch he saw.

Which 1930s Yankees ace's three All-Star Game wins were still the record in 2026?

Lefty Gomez won the first All-Star Game in 1933, when the pitcher himself singled home the first run in All-Star history, then won again in 1935 and 1937.

Who, nicknamed the Cobra, won the first Home Run Derby?

Dave Parker needed only six home runs to win it in 1985, in a contest that was not televised and gave each hitter two 'innings' of five outs apiece.

Who thrilled his home crowd by setting the 2023 Home Run Derby single-round record of 41?

Julio Rodríguez hit his 41 in the first round to knock out a two-time champion, then lost by a single homer in the semi-final to the man who went on to win.

As of 2026, which father and son had both won the Home Run Derby?

Vladimir Guerrero Sr. and Jr. won 16 years apart: the son had lost the 2019 final despite hitting a record 91 home runs that night, then took the title in 2023.