Category Archives: All-Star Game

July 16, 2025

Where were Judge and Ohtani?

I was a bit surprised that neither Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, nor Shohei Ohtani were chosen for the swing off at the end of the tied All-Star game last night. Here is the rule (emphasis added) on selecting players from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (page 83):

Following announcement of the All-Star Game rosters, the
Association, the Office of the Commissioner, and the manager of
each League’s All-Star Team shall work together to encourage
player participation in the Tiebreaker and solicit player interest in
participating. In the event that the Parties have not identified at
least three (3) players from each League’s Active Roster who have
agreed to participate in the Tiebreaker by the Saturday prior to the
All-Star Game, the Association and the Commissioner’s Office
shall meet and confer and use best efforts to secure the requisite
number of participants. Thereafter, the manager of each League’s
All-Star team shall select (i) three (3) players on his team’s Active
Roster who have agreed to participate in the All-Star Tiebreaker
(“Tiebreaker Selections”), if applicable; (ii) one (1) alternate
player from his Active Roster who has agreed to participate in the
All-Star Tiebreaker, if necessary due to injury to a Tiebreaker
Selection; (iii) an All-Star team coach who will throw batting
practice during the All-Star Tiebreaker; and (iv) an All-Star Team
bullpen catcher who will catch during the All-Star Tiebreaker.
MLBPlayers.com

So I assume the three did not opt in, so the AL did not have a very big bat available to push them over the edge, while Kyle Schwarber added to his legend.

July 15, 2025

Tie Game

Nine innings end with the American League and National League Tied at six. There will be a home run swing off to decide the game. It’s the first ASG settled by a home run derby.

Update: The NL wins the swing off 4-3 as Kyle Schwarber hits three home runs on three swings.

The AL had a nice comeback from a 6-0 deficit, but good defense by the NL in the ninth allowed them to limit the scoring to a tie, and Schwarber wins the game with his bat.

July 15, 2025

Game of the Day

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The All-Star Game takes place Tuesday night in Atlanta. Although they won’t pitch long in the game, the matchup between Tarik Skubal of the Tigers and Paul Skenes of the Pirates is one for the ages. Skubal and Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox stand tied at two decimal points for the AL ERA lead (Crochet leads 2.227 to 2.231), but Skubal owns the better three true outcomes. Skenes leads the majors in ERA at 2.01.

Both Skubal and Skenes come into the game with 121 innings under their belts. Depite Skubal striking out about a batter and a half more per nine innings, Skenes allowed fewer hits, 82 to 84. Skenes also did a better job of keeping the ball in the park, six home runs allowed to nine for Skubal. Skubal wins the walk war, however, with just 16 free passes to Skenes’ 30, and that control is probably worth the extra two hits.

Skubal and Skenes also stand as the front runners for the league Cy Young Awards based on Tom Tango Enhanced Cy Young Points, but different measures of potential voting give different results, with Crochet and Zack Wheeler also doing well.

Enjoy the game! When I was young, I watched mostly to see what my favorite team’s players would accomplish. I hope yours do well.

July 15, 2025

Raking Raleigh

Cal Raleigh won the All-Star home run derby, the first catcher to do so.

“Usually, the guy that’s leading the league in homers doesn’t win the whole thing,” Raleigh said. “That’s as surprising to me as anybody else.”
ESPN.com

It turned out to be a low total HR derby, and there was a bit of controversy in the first round, won on a tie breaker by Raleigh against Brent Rooker:

Raleigh was almost eliminated in Round 1 when he and Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker tied with 17 home runs, but the M’s slugger won the tiebreaker by the slimmest of margins, as his longest home run traveled 470.61 feet to Rooker’s 470.53.

…

Meanwhile, Rooker expressed confusion over his final moments in Round 1, when each player was given 40 pitches and three minutes to hit home runs.

“They told me before I went up there that I could take two pitches, but I didn’t know when they told me that there were only 40 balls already in the crate,” Rooker said. “So, I took two pitches that didn’t count, but when we went to do the round, there was only 38 remaining. So, we got down to having two pitches with five seconds left and they’re out of baseballs.”

There are still a few bugs in the system.

Raleigh predicted he would win the home run derby as a child, and here’s the video to prove it.

July 14, 2025

All Star Orders

Now that the official batting orders for the All-Star game are in, we can use the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) to figure out how well the managers did in creating the lineup. First the National League:

Best Lineup: 6.78 runs per game
Starting Lineup: 6.48 runs per game
Worst Lineup: 6.25 runs per game

Dave Roberts nails Francisco Lindor batting eighth. Someone great has to be the worst batter on the team. A number of lineups bat Ronald Acuna, Jr., Ketel Marte, and Freddie Freeman in that order, but bat them 1-2-3 with NL leadoff hitter Shohei Ontani batting fourth.

The main point of disagreement comes from Pete Crow-Armstrong batting fifth in the LAT, last in the Roberts lineup. Crow-Armstrong is all power, and that works well behind those OBPs. The LAT placed either Kyle Tucker or Freddie Freeman ninth at the on base guys for the top of the order.

Here are the AL results:

Best Lineup: 6.57 runs per game
Starting Lineup: 6.40 runs per game
Worst Lineup: 5.85 runs per game

Brett Boone also nails the eighth slot with Javier Baez and the fourth slot with Cal Raleigh. Those are two important slots, so while the best NL lineup leads the best AL by 0.21 runs, the NL advantage over the AL order is just 0.08 runs.

The biggest difference of opinion between Boone and the LAT comes over Aaron Judge. the LAT wants him second, while Boone bats Judge third. The second difference rises over where to bat Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Riley Greene. The LAT put Guerrero at or near the top and Greene in the middle, with Boone does the opposite.

The NL has an advantage in offense, but it’s smaller than it should be.

July 6, 2025

All All Stars

The American and National League All Star rosters are complete. They look like two very good squads for me, and I’m very happy that Clayton Kershaw received the Legend Pick. I’m also happy Julio Rodriguez made the team, as I thought he should have been a starting outfielder.

Here is how the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) sees the optimum AL lineup. The top lineup scores 6.71 runs per game, and all the top lineups bat Aaron Judge second, Cal Raleigh fourth, and Javier Baez eighth. On the NL, the LAT sees the top lineup scoring 6.97 runs per game, and doesn’t favor anyone player in any one position. The AL batters feature great OBPs, the NL batters great power, and in this case the power wins.

July 2, 2025

The All Stars

The voting for the All-Star starters is out. I tend not to care that much about snubs and such; it’s a game for the fans and the fans vote the players they want to see. Of the 18 offensive starters, Javier Baez may be the weakest pick. Tigers fans appear to have voted heavily for their first place team, and Baez provides a very good comeback story. He finally overcame injuries, and gave himself over to doing whatever the team needed him to do.

Overall, it looks like the fans put together a good mix of great veterans and up and coming stars.

July 17, 2024

All-Star Recap

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ESPN has the game story. Paul Skenes pitched well, allowing no hits in the first inning. The selfless Juan Soto worked his way on with a walk so people could see Skenes pitch to Aaron Judge. Judge grounded into a fielder’s choice on the first pitch.

Shohei Ohtani homered, Soto hit a two run double, and Jarren Duran won the MVP with his tie breaking homer as the AL got back in the win column with a 5-3 victory. Best of all, the game took just 2 hours and 28 minutes, so most people were able to stay up and watch the whole game.

There was a nice mix of young and veteran stars, with some big names doing well, and some new names showing off their skills. Still the best all-star game of any major sport.

July 14, 2024

All Star Update

The Day by Day Database is up to date.

Enjoy the break!

July 12, 2024

Skenesian Economics

The NL decided to start rookie pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pirates in the All-Star game:

Skenes received the news from NL manager Torey Lovullo, who surprised him during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show on Friday.

“That’s unbelievable,” Skenes said when he received the news. “That’s awesome.”

“So well deserved,” Lovullo told Skenes. “We’re super excited to make this announcement. You represent so many great things that this game craves. It’s such a great story the way you’ve come on the scene, the way you’ve done it with such humbleness. It’s noticeable. I’ll be honored to be your manager and I’m going to be honored to be watching you throw your first pitch.”
MLB.com

It’s also a great way to get fans to tune into the game. I suspect many people have not yet had a chance to watch Skenes pitch live. Most people don’t have Extra Innings, and the Pirates are not a mainstay of national broadcasts. Here’s MLB shining the spotlight on a player. That lack of player promotion by the league is a long standing complaint from the men on the field.

It’s a good job all around by MLB, and it’s a great reason to watch the contest.

July 7, 2024

Your All Stars

MLB announced the complete All-Star rosters. I hope your favorite player made the team!

July 4, 2024

The Limits of Offense

One thing I like about the All-Star starting lineups for 2024 is how they demonstrate the limits on putting together a great team. The lineup analysis here shows the AL squad capable of generating seven runs a game. Imagine a lineup with Adley Rutschman and Vladimir Guerrero bat eighth and ninth!

If you put that team in a 4.5 runs/game league, you would expect them to post a winning percentage of .708 or a 115-47 record. I like that number, as it is the mirror image of replacement level. Forty eight wins is sometimes used as replacement level, as it is the theoretical floor for wins by a major league team. So it’s not surprising, if you put together a superstar lineup, the ceiling for wins should be around 114.

It’s also the reason most organizations don’t try to have a lineup packed with superstars. Ninety five wins today means a trip to the playoffs. There’s no need to spend the money on the extra 20 wins, unless maybe you really need to win a World Series.

You can try getting really extreme with the LAT. Make a lineup of your favorite hitters, or even who you think are the greatest players at each position. Take their best season, or their three-year peak, and put in the OBP and Slugging percentages, and see how many runs you can generate. Maybe when I get time I’ll attempt this lineup:

Substitute as you like.

July 3, 2024

All Star Starters

The voting is over for the All-Star batting starters. Both teams are loaded.

Which offense is better? I plugged the AL starters into the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT). The best lineup should generate 7.09 runs per game, with Yankees Juan Soto and Aaron Judge at the top of the order, The eight slot usually goes to the worst batter on the team, and in this order that would be Adley Rutschman. The worst lineup would generate 6.54 runs per game.

Here are the NL starters analyzed by the LAT. The best lineup generates 6.71 runs per game. Christian Yelich and Bryce Harper top that lineup, with Tatis in the eighth slot. The one constant in the top lineups is Shohei Ohtanti batting fourth. The worst NL lineup would generate 6.32 runs per game.

Plugging the best lineup runs/game into the Pythagorean formula, the AL should have a .527 winning percentage against the NL. Two bad we won’t see these orders g against each other for a full game.

June 27, 2024

Two Stars

Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper win the first two spots on the All-Star team as they receive the most votes in each league in the first round of fan voting:

The pair were selected under rules that began in 2022 and give starting spots to the top vote-getter in each league in the first phase of online voting, which began June 5 and ended Thursday. Two finalists at every other position advanced to the second phase, which runs from noon EDT on Sunday to noon EDT on June 30. Votes from the first phase do not carry over.

An individual can vote once per 24-hour period.

Remaining starters will be announced on June 30. Pitchers and reserves will be revealed on July 7.
ESPN.com

I’m not surprised by Judge leading the overall vote. He stood number one in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings for a number of weeks. I’m a bit surprised that Harper beat out Shohei Ohtani in the first round. Ohtani plays in a bigger market than Harper, and MLB certainly promoted the two-way player a great deal. Looks like the Phillies fans came through.

November 16, 2023

Braves Get an All-Star Game

The All-Star Game will be in Atlanta in 2025:

Critics complained then that the voting rights changes were too restrictive. Manfred made the decision to move the All-Star events and the amateur draft from Atlanta after discussions with individual players and the Players Alliance, an organization of Black players formed after the death of George Floyd in 2020.
ESPN.com

Since the law hasn’t changed, I guess all those critics were wrong. I hope they all apologize to the Braves and the people of Atlanta who would have made some extra money working the events.

July 11, 2023

NL End Losing Streak

The National League ends their nine-game All-Star losing streak with a 3-2 win over the American League. The AL did get two men on with two out in the bottom of the ninth, but Craig Kimbrel struck out Jose Ramirez to end the game.

That was a decent game. The teams showed some good defense, some power, and the home town fans got to see Julio Rodriguez in a game situation in the ninth.

July 11, 2023

Diaz Delivers

Elias Diaz in his first All-Star game delivers a two-run, pinch-hit homer to give the National League a 3-2 lead over the AL. Although he hit 18 homers in 2021, he is not really much of a home run hitter. He overcame the low altitude to put the NL on top as they try to break their win drought.

July 11, 2023

Arraez Hits Again

Luis Arraez works in the sixth slot as he goes two for two, his second single driving in J.D. Martinez to tie the All-Star Game at one. Too bad those two hits don’t count toward helping him hit .400.

July 11, 2023

Yandy Candy

Yandy Diaz gets the American League on the board with a one-out home run in the bottom of the second inning to leftfield. He has 13 regular season home runs, one off his career season high of 14 set in 2019. The AL leads the NL 1-0.

July 11, 2023

Wall Ball

The first two hitters in the National League lineup hit balls to the wall, and the American League Outfielders turn them into outs. Ronald Acuna Jr.hit a ball to rightfield, where Adolis Garcia battled the sun to make a reaching catch. The Freddie Freeman hits a ball to the wall in leftfield, where Randy Arozarena battles the sun to make a leaping catch. Gerrit Cole retires the side in order, and the AL comes up with no score in the game.

July 10, 2023

Vlad and Dad

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.wins the home run derby, defeating Randy Arozarena. Vlad joins his hall of fame father as the only father and son to win the home run derby.

July 10, 2023

Julio!

Julio Rodriguez hits 32 home runs in his first three minutes, earning a minute of bonus time. His swing was perfect and consistent as he adds nine more for a total of 41. He will need it as he’s in the round against two-time derby champion Pete Alonso. The home team fans just loved the performance.

Alonso hits 21, and Rodriguez advances.

July 10, 2023

Cool Switch

Adley Rutschman spends the first three minutes of his Home Run Derby time hitting left-handed. After taking the time out before an extra 30 seconds, he turns around to the right side and drives eight of ten pitches out of the park for a total of 27 home runs. His dad was throwing to him, and throwing right handed.

Update: Luis Robert Jr. hits 28 to win the pairing. Robert just crushed the ball and won with 44 seconds left on the clock.

July 10, 2023

The NL Lineup

The National League All-Star lineup looks a tiny bit odd to me. Luis Arraez bats sixth. Based on 2023 statistics, Arraez ranks second to last to Orlando Arcia in slugging percentage, but first among the nine in OBP. Despite that, the NL is batting him in a power slot. In general, hitters who do a great job getting on base with little power serve as table setters. I would bat Arraez first and Ronald Acuna Jr second, rather than Acuna at the top and Arraez in the sixth hole.

The Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) puts Arraez at the top of the order often, but it’s not a slam dunk. When Acuna or any one else leads off in the top lineups, Arraez bats ninth. That makes a lot of sense, as Arraez, Acunca, followed by other sluggers looks like table setters followed by big bats most of the times through the order. Sixth seems like the worst spot one could place Arraez.

Note that the player the LAT places in the sixth slot the majority of the time is J.D. Martinez. The Dodgers DH is all power this year, with a .303 OBP and a .570 slugging percentage. In other words, the sixth slot is a power slot.

It’s only an exhibition, and the batters probably get on plate appearance, but Arraez deserves to be showcased early. Batting him and Acuna in the top two slots makes sense and shows off too tremendous talents to start the game.

July 2, 2023

All-Star Rosters

The complete All-Star Rosters are out. There doesn’t seem to be much team diversity in the starting lineups. Only four AL teams send position player starters, and five teams from the NL. Twelve of the eighteen starters come from the Rangers, the Braves, the Dodgers and the Rays.

June 29, 2023

All-Star Starting Nines

The starters for the All-Star were announced tonight, with the Rangers sending four hitters into the initial lineup. It’s nice to see Luis Arraez and Corbin Carroll make the NL squad. It’s also nice to see AL youngsters Josh Jung Jonah Heim on the team as well.

July 19, 2022

Eye On the Ball

I just saw a slow motion replay of Giancarlo Stanton’s swing on his home run, and he is looking right at the ball as he hits it. One might think the eye would waver a little, but I’m always impressed by the ability of the batter to watch the ball to the point of contact.

July 19, 2022

Birthday Bash

Mookie Betts just led all the Stars and fans in Los Angeles in wishing Rachel Robinson a happy 100th birthday. Here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson, happy 100th and many more!

July 19, 2022

Another Derby

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A tied All-Star Game will be decided by a home run derby. So now the game is simply about getting everyone on the roster into the game, three catchers, 15 pitchers. Sigh.

July 19, 2022

Fantasy All-Star Viewing

Lonnie Hanover of Rick’s Cabaret New York is a long time supporter of Baseball Musings. He wants readers in the New York City area to know the club will be holding an All Star Game viewing party in honor of Aaron Judge receiving the most All Star votes. I’m told the dancers are big sports fans. The club is located at 50 West 33rd St.