50 Fun Facts About MLB All-Star Game

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

It is meant to mark the symbolic halfway point of the season, though the mathematical midpoint usually falls weeks earlier.

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

He also created the Golden Gloves boxing tournament and the College All-Star Football Classic.

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

It was staged as part of the 1933 World's Fair and was meant to be a one-time event.

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

Twenty of the thirty-six All-Stars on the field that day later made the Hall of Fame.

What did the Chicago Tribune call the inaugural 1933 contest?

Fifty-five newspapers printed fan ballots, and the $45,000 net gate went to a charity for needy former players.

Which Giants pitcher struck out five future Hall of Famers in a row in the 1934 game?

The victims were Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin, in that order.

Who hit a walk-off home run to win the 1941 All-Star Game for the American League?

The NL led 5–4 with two outs in the ninth when he connected off the Cubs' Claude Passeau.

Which pair were the first brothers to appear together in an All-Star Game, in 1941?

Dom singled home Joe in his first plate appearance of the game.

Why was no All-Star Game held in 1945?

The game scheduled for Boston's Fenway Park was simply deferred to the next season.

During which four-season stretch were two All-Star Games played every year?

The second game raised money for the players' pension fund, but the experiment was dropped as diluting the event.

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

The Cincinnati Enquirer printed pre-marked ballots in the Sunday paper; Stan Musial was the only non-Red elected.

Which commissioner removed two of those 1957 starters and took the vote away from fans?

He inserted Willie Mays and Hank Aaron for Gus Bell and Wally Post, and fans did not vote again until 1970.

Who was the first player ever voted onto an All-Star team as a fan write-in, in 1970?

Steve Garvey became the second write-in starter in 1974 and went on to win that game's MVP.

Pete Rose scored the 1970 winning run by bowling over which American League catcher?

The collision came in the bottom of the twelfth at brand-new Riverfront Stadium.

Which 1970 ballpark hosted the first All-Star Game played entirely at night?

The stadium had been open barely two weeks; every All-Star Game since has been played under the lights.

How many of the 20 All-Star Games from 1963 to 1982 did the American League win?

A 1–19 record is the worst run for either league in the history of the exhibition.

In the windy 1971 game at Tiger Stadium, what was unusual about how all ten runs scored?

Reggie Jackson's blast off the light tower on the right-center roof was the most famous of the six.

Whose 1983 grand slam is still the only one in All-Star Game history?

It came off the Giants' Atlee Hammaker in a seven-run third inning at Comiskey Park.

Why was the 1983 game played on a Wednesday rather than the usual Tuesday?

It was played at Comiskey Park, the same venue as the 1933 original.

Which year's game was moved to a Sunday in August because of a players' strike?

It remains the only All-Star Game played on a weekend and the last one held outside July.

In which year was a designated hitter used in an All-Star Game for the first time?

Until 2010 the DH was used only in AL parks; the 2011 game was the first in an NL park with a DH.

Which Red Sox fan used a program to cast 39,000-plus votes for Nomar Garciaparra in 1999?

MLB rejected the votes once the scheme was discovered.

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

He fanned five of the six batters he faced and took MVP honours as a member of the host team.

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

Ripken then homered in the third inning and won his second All-Star MVP award.

What was the final score of the controversial 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee?

Both teams ran out of pitchers after 11 innings and Commissioner Bud Selig called it, to a shower of boos and beer bottles.

From 2003 to 2016, what did the league that won the All-Star Game receive?

Since 2017 it has gone to the pennant winner with the better regular-season record.

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

None of the errors led to a run in a 15-inning, four-hour-50-minute game, the longest by time ever.

How many innings did the longest All-Star Games, in 1967 and 2008, last?

The 2008 game at the old Yankee Stadium ended at 1:38 a.m. with the AL winning 4–3.

Which Cardinals pitcher hinted he grooved pitches to Derek Jeter in the 2014 game?

The remark fed calls to stop letting an exhibition decide World Series home field.

Fans of which team had 65 million fraudulent votes cancelled in 2015?

Eight of their players had been leading at their positions, which would have left Mike Trout as the only other AL starter.

Why was the 2016 game unusual in having the AL as the home team?

MLB did not want the NL batting last three straight years while the game decided World Series home field.

The 2021 game was moved from Atlanta to which city?

MLB relocated it to Coors Field in response to a newly passed Georgia election law.

Who in 2021 became the first All-Star to start as both pitcher and lead-off hitter?

MLB allowed him to stay on as designated hitter even after he left the mound.

Who hit the 200th home run in All-Star Game history, in 2021?

The Blue Jays slugger went on to be named MVP of that game at Coors Field.

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

Each manager picks three hitters who get three swings apiece, so extra innings are abolished.

Who hit three home runs in the first-ever swing-off in 2025 and was named MVP?

The game at Truist Park was tied 6–6 after nine, and the NL won the swing-off 4–3.

Which team is the only current MLB club never to have hosted an All-Star Game?

The Yankees have also never hosted at their current stadium, though the old Yankee Stadium hosted four times.

Which city has hosted the most All-Star Games, nine across five different stadiums?

Yet the Mets went 48 seasons without hosting, from 1965 to 2012.

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

The honour follows the person, which is how Dusty Baker managed the NL in 2003 after moving from the Giants to the Cubs.

How many players have been on each league's All-Star roster since 2010?

It was 18 in 1933, 25 from 1939 to 1981, and 30 from 1982 to 2002.

Which long-standing rule about roster selection remains a continuing controversy?

The only exception is when a team trades its lone All-Star before the game.

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

It was originally the Arch Ward Memorial Award and briefly the Commissioner's Trophy from 1970 to 1985.

Who won the first All-Star Game MVP award in 1962?

Two games were played that year, so two awards were handed out.

Who is the only player to win All-Star Game MVP in back-to-back years?

He did it in 2014 and 2015; Mays, Garvey, Carter and Ripken also won twice but not consecutively.

Who holds the record for most All-Star Game appearances with 25?

The double games of 1959–62 helped; his 21 All-Star seasons is also the record.

Who hit the most home runs in All-Star Game history, with six?

Ted Williams holds the RBI record with 12, and Willie Mays leads in hits with 23.

Which pitcher has the most All-Star Game wins, with three?

He was the winning pitcher in the very first game in 1933; Drysdale holds the strikeout record with 19.

In which year was the first Home Run Derby held?

It was inspired by a 1960 TV series of the same name and was not even televised in its early years.

Who set the Home Run Derby single-round record of 41 homers in 2023?

He topped Guerrero's 40 from 2019, the year Guerrero also set the overall record of 91.

Which father and son are the only such duo to have both won the Home Run Derby?

The father won in 2007 and the son in 2023.