Tonight’s Midsummer Classic brings historic significance, sportsmanship, and new tech to Truist Park—plus a nod to tradition with classic jerseys.
The 95th MLB All-Star Game will be hosted tonight at 8 PM at Truist Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves. It was originally supposed to be in Atlanta in 2021 to honor the legacy of Braves legend, Henry “Hank” Aaron. Aaron was known as a “five-tool” player, someone with power, hitting for average, speed, fielding, and arm strength/accuracy. He is also second all-time in home runs with 715. Ironically enough, today’s date, July 15 (7/15) aligns with the total amount of home runs, making this even more fitting to honor his legacy. Aaron passed away in 2021, and the MLB wanted Atlanta to host an All-Star game, but last minute switched to Coors Field in Colorado.
The starting pitchers from both the American League (AL) and National League (NL) are Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers and Paul Skenes from the Pittsburgh Pirates. This will be Skenes’ second consecutive start for the NL. Skubal was voted to be the starter for the AL but was willing to give his start to Yankees pitcher Max Fried. Fried spent the first seven years of his career with the Braves, and Skubal wanted to give him his “flowers.” Ultimately, Fried declined to start because Skubal is “more deserving of the start,” showing the sportsmanship between the two.
This All-Star game is reverting back to a classic format, making every player wear their teams’ regular jerseys in the game. This is the first time this has happened since 2019. Ever since the MLB switched from Majestic to Nike, the feedback they’ve gotten from fans has been more negative than positive. Eventually, they’ve decided to revert to old form rather than create a jersey specifically for the game.
One new change that is being added is the use of the Automated-Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system. It is a system where if a pitcher, catcher, or hitter can challenge the umpires call of a strike or ball. Each team gets two challenges and if they win their challenge, they get to retain it. A challenge is initiated when a player taps their cap or helmet to indicate to the umpire that they want that call reviewed.
The Midsummer Classic will be broadcasted live on Fox tonight at 8:00 P.M.
