Midsummer Classic
| Major League Baseball All-Star Game | |
|---|---|
2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
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| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Varies (see text) |
| Inaugurated | 1933 |
| Previous event | July 12, 2016 (Petco Park, San Diego, California, United States) |
| Next event | July 11, 2017 (Marlins Park, Miami, Florida, United States) |
| Participants | American League and National League baseball players |
| Organized by | Major League Baseball |
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) contested between players from the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), currently selected by fans for starting fielders, by managers for pitchers, and by managers and players for reserves.
The game usually occurs on either the second or third Tuesday in July, and is meant to mark a symbolic halfway-point in the MLB season (though not the mathematical halfway-point which, for most seasons, is usually found within the previous calendar week). Both of the major leagues share a common All-Star break, with no regular-season games scheduled on the day before or two days after the All-Star Game itself. Some additional events and festivities associated with the game take place each year close to and during this break in the regular season.
No official MLB All-Star Game was held in 1945 including the official selection of players due to World War II travel restrictions. For a brief period in MLB history, players were named to the AL roster and NL roster for two All-Star Games held during the 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1962 seasons, but this format was subsequently abandoned.
The first All-Star Game was held on July 6, 1933 as part of the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, at Comiskey Park (1910–1990) and was initiated by 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 for the All-Star Game is chosen by Major League Baseball. The criteria for the venue are subjective; generally, cities with new ballparks and those who have not hosted the game in a long time—or ever—tend to get selected. Over time, this has resulted in certain cities being selected more often at the expense of others, mainly due to timely circumstances: Cleveland Stadium and the original Yankee Stadium are tied for the most times a venue has hosted the All-Star game, both hosting four games. New York City has hosted more than any other city, having done so nine times in five different stadiums. At the same time, the New York Mets failed to host for 48 seasons (1965–2012), while the Los Angeles Dodgers have not hosted since 1980 (36 years as of 2016). Among current Major League teams, the Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, and the Tampa Bay Rays have yet to host the All-Star game; after 2018, the Tampa Bay area will remain the only city with a major-league franchise that has yet to host because the Nationals will host in 2018 and the Marlins in 2017.
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