All-Star Game By The Numbers Reveals Balance Between Leagues

When the 95th All-Star Game is played at Atlanta’s Truist Park Tuesday night, the game is virtually certain to underscore the balance between leagues.

The American League has won more often, 48 times against 44 for the National League, with two ties. But the AL has scored only eight more runs in the process.

This year’s game is unpredictable for multiple reasons.

There are 30 first-time All-Stars, 15 from each leagues, and 14 players – seven from each circuit – who have been selected in both circuits.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, a legacy selection by Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, leads the group with 11 All-Star selections.

Foreign Flavor

The number of international All-Stars is growing, with 365 born out of the United States. The Dominican Republic leads with 117, followed by Venezuela (67), Puerto Rico (50), Cuba (43), Canada (22), Japan (17), and Mexico (16). No other country has reached double digits.

The late Hank Aaron, a long-time Atlanta icon who topped the lifetime list in home runs for 33 years, was an All-Star a record 21 years in a row, missing only his first and last years of his 23-year career. Because the leagues played two All-Star games from 1959-62, Aaron was chosen 25 times, another record.

Since the game was cancelled in 1945 by wartime travel restrictions, the leagues have played 94 games.

Last Year’s Game

The American League won, 5-3, last year, when the game was played at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX.

Next year’s game is scheduled for Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was written and ratified in 1776. The game will be part of the historic city’s year-long celebration.

The choice of Atlanta for this year’s game was controversial because it is occurring four years after the game was supposed to be played there. The 2021 game was moved to Denver after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation Manfred believed restricted voting rights.

A reporter at Monday’s All-Star Media Day press conference asked National League manager Dave Roberts to comment on that decision.

Roberts evaded the query, stating that he would not discuss the political decision. He also said he was looking forward to managing and winning the game for the Senior Circuit.