For the first time since 1945, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game has been cancelled. In yet another casualty of the COVID-19 virus, the July 14th original date for the Midsummer Classic will now be used instead for spring training 2.0 or summer camp.
The city of Los Angeles was scheduled to host the game and all the ancillary events surrounding it including the Home Run Derby and the interactive Play Ball Park. Shortly after the cancellation was announced, Commissioner Rob Manfred made partial amends to the L.A. area by awarding the 2022 game to Dodgers Stadium.
“Once it became clear we were unable to hold this year’s All-Star festivities, we wanted to award the Dodgers with the next available All-Star Game, which is 2022,” Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters. “I want to thank the Dodgers organization and the city of Los Angeles for being collaborative partners in the early stages of All-Star preparation and for being patient and understanding in navigating the uncertainty created by the pandemic. The 2022 All-Star celebration promises to be a memorable one with events throughout the city and at picturesque Dodger Stadium.”
The Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park remains the host of the 2021 All-Star Game.
Logistically, corona or not, it would have been next to impossible to squeeze an ASG into a 60-game season that spans just 66 days. Realizing the problems the shortened season presents, Dodger’s front office issue a statement that reads,
“As excited as we were to host this year’s All-Star Game, we know that it will be worth the wait and that Dodger Stadium and Los Angeles will host a world-class event in 2022,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said. “We’d like to thank Commissioner Rob Manfred for re-awarding All-Star Week to Los Angeles so quickly, as well as mayor Eric Garcetti and council member Gil Cedillo for their continued support of this premier sporting event, which will have lasting benefits for our community.”
The mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, weighed in with his thoughts:
“COVID-19 has forced us to make a lot of tough calls and sacrifices — and while it may have disrupted our plans for this year, we can’t wait to welcome baseball’s best to Los Angeles for the 2022 All-Star Game,” Garcetti said. “The Dodgers have always brought Angelenos together and baseball has helped America heal time and again. I look forward to welcoming fans from all over the world to our city and Dodger Stadium for this Midsummer Classic.”
Since its 1933 inception, the All-Star Game had been a summer staple every year except 1945, when wartime travel restrictions forced its cancellation. During that year’s All-Star break, eight interleague exhibition games were scheduled to raise funds to support the American Red Cross and the National War Fund.
The L.A. area will welcome the ASG for the third time in 2022, having hosted the event in 1959 and 1980.
