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| Date | July 13, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Coors Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Denver, Colorado | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 49,184 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ceremonial first pitch | Peyton Manning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | Fox (United States) Fox Deportes MLB International (International) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Joe Buck,John Smoltz,Ken Rosenthal andTom Verducci (Fox) Adrian Garcia Marquez, Carlos Alvarez andEdgar Gonzalez (Fox Deportes) Scott Braun andCliff Floyd (MLB International) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Jon Sciambi andChris Singleton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 91stMajor League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was hosted by theColorado Rockies and played atCoors Field on July 13. It was broadcast nationally byFox,Fox Deportes, andESPN Radio.
TheAmerican League (AL) defeated theNational League (NL) 5–2. It was the eighth consecutive All-Star Game victory for the AL.[1]
The game was originally to be hosted inAtlanta atTruist Park. However, following theGeorgia State Legislature's passage of theElection Integrity Act of 2021, the game was moved to Coors Field inDenver. The All-Star Game was the second to be played in Denver after the1998 game.
Kevin Cash of theTampa Bay Rays managed the AL andDave Roberts of thedefending World Series championLos Angeles Dodgers managed the NL. For the first time in All-Star Game history,Los Angeles Angels playerShohei Ohtani served as the starting pitcher and lead-off batter. The matchup also featured the 200th home run of the All-Star Game, which was hit byToronto Blue Jays playerVladimir Guerrero Jr.
Atlanta was originally awarded the game on May 30, 2019; it was to be the first All-Star Game hosted byTruist Park and the third All-Star Game played in Atlanta after the1972 and2000 editions.[2]
In March 2021, there were calls for the All-Star Game to be moved from Atlanta, in protest of theGeorgia State Legislature's passage of theElection Integrity Act of 2021. The bill contains various provisions that impact how elections are conducted in the state; some of these provisions have been considered by many on the political left to have a disproportionate impact on certain communities, such asAfrican Americans andHispanic Americans,MLBPA executive directorTony Clark stated that he was "very much aware" of the issue, and that he was willing to discuss the matter withCommissioner of BaseballRob Manfred.[3][4][5] A sizeable portion of the player base and fan base are Hispanic and that had factored into the relocation threat.[5]
In an interview withESPN'sSage Steele on March 31, PresidentJoe Biden stated that he would "strongly support" moving the game out of Georgia, saying thatRepublican efforts to make voting laws more restrictive following the 2020 presidential election were "Jim Crow onsteroids".[6][7] On April 1, Manfred stated that he was "talking to various constituencies within the game and I'm just not going beyond that in terms of what I would consider or not consider." In an April 1 interview withFox News, GeorgiaGovernorBrian Kemp criticized the efforts, calling them "ridiculous".[8][9]
On April 2, MLB announced that the game and the2021 MLB draft (which was added to the All-Star festivities this year) would be moved from Georgia, and that the game would be relocated to a different city in another state, to be determined. Commissioner Manfred stated that "Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box."[10] Governor Kemp later responded by saying that he would not back down over his decision, claiming that MLB caved to "fear, political opportunism, and liberal lies." Kemp also claimed that the move was an example ofcancel culture.[11] In a statement shared on Truth Social, former PresidentDonald Trump also criticized the decision, calling for a boycott of MLB.[12][13]Texas GovernorGreg Abbott cancelled a planned appearance at theTexas Rangers' home opener, where he had been scheduled to throw out the first pitch, in protest of the decision to move the game. In a letter to the Rangers stating his decision, Abbott also wrote that he would not participate in any future events organized by MLB and that Texas would not bid to host future All-Star games or other MLB special events.[14][15] (They would eventually host the All-Star game in 2024). On Twitter, former Georgia gubernatorial candidateStacey Abrams at first called for the change; however, she later recognized the decision was not received well by Georgia citizens and eventually stated her disappointment over the decision, saying, "I don't want to see Georgia families hurt by lost events and jobs," while also stating that she understood why it was made.[16] In a tweet, former PresidentBarack Obama also praised MLB for moving the game out of Georgia.[17] Atlanta MayorKeisha Lance Bottoms also supported the move. However, Bottoms, like Georgia's two United States Senators, represent Fulton County, while the Braves, and Truist Park, is located in Cobb County. Legislators that represent Cobb County, home county of the Braves and Truist Park supported the bill.
On April 14, five Republican senators and representatives introduced legislation to strip Major League Baseball of its antitrust exemption in response to the move.[18][19][20]
An April 5Morning Consult poll found that 39% of U.S. adults approved of the move while 28% percent of U.S. adults disapproved, and 32% of U.S. adults stated they had no opinion or didn't know about the move. Overall support for the move was higher among MLB fans, Democrats, and people of color compared to the general population.[21] Data from Morning Consult Brand Intelligence also showed that Republican approval of MLB dropped by 35 percentage points from 47 points to 12 points.[22]
The 2021 MLB All-Star Game became at least the thirdmajor sporting event in the United States to be relocated for political reasons.[23][24] Prior relocations that were announced in protest of states' political decisions include the2017 NBA All-Star Game, which theNBA relocated in 2016 fromCharlotte, North Carolina, in response to the passage ofPublic Facilities Privacy & Security Act which critics foundtransphobic, andSuper Bowl XXVII, which theNFL relocated in 1990 fromTempe, Arizona, in response to a failed state referendum to recognizeMartin Luther King Jr. Day.[3]
On April 5, MLB announced thatCoors Field inDenver would host the All-Star Game.[25]
On April 23, the All-Star Game logo was unveiled, featuring the Rockies' colors of purple, white, black, and silver with a profile representing theRocky Mountains at the bottom.[27] On June 24, MLB announced that players would wear standardized jerseys during the All-Star Game, rather than their own team's jerseys—navy blue for American League players and white for National League players.[28]
Voting for All-Star Game starting players was conducted in two phases: the first phase determined three finalists for each defensive position in each league (with nine finalists for the three outfield positions in each league) plus adesignated hitter for the American League, and the second phase determined the starting players.[29] Voting for each phase was independent; that is, votes did not carry over between phases.[30] First phase voting was held from June 3 through June 24, and second phase voting was June 28 through July 1.[30] All voting was conducted online, atMLB.com (or associated mobile applications) or viaGoogle Search.[30] Starting players, as selected via voting, were announced on July 1.[30][31] Reserve position players and all pitchers—selected through "a combination of Player Ballot selections and choices made by the Commissioner’s Office"[30]—were announced on July 4.[32]
Under MLB rules, at least one player from each major-league team has to be selected for the game.[33][34] However, there is no requirement for each team to have a player rostered for the game—for various reasons, each of the four players from theHouston Astros selected to the game became unavailable, leaving the Astros without a player on the American League's active roster for the game.[35]
The total of 40 players named All-Stars for the first time set a new MLB record.[36]
MLB allowed the American League to rosterShohei Ohtani as both the team's starting pitcher and startingdesignated hitter (DH), allowing Ohtani (and his replacement) to continue as DH even after he was removed from the game as a pitcher.[42]
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| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| American League | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| National League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Starting pitchers: AL:Shohei Ohtani NL:Max Scherzer WP:Shohei Ohtani (1–0) LP:Corbin Burnes (0–1) Sv:Liam Hendriks (1) Home runs: AL:Vladimir Guerrero Jr.,Mike Zunino (1) NL:J. T. Realmuto (1) Attendance: 49,184 Time: 3:00 Umpires:HP –Tom Hallion (crew chief);1B –CB Bucknor;2B –Chris Guccione;3B –Lance Barrett;LF –David Rackley;RF –Adam Hamari; Replay Official –Greg Gibson[43] Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||