Prior to the start of the 2022 season, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association agreed to a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement), and included in that agreement are some changes in regards to the MLB All-Star Game.
One thing included in the agreement, which we recently learned about, is that the MLB Commissioner is allowed to select players from both American League and National League to be All-Stars based on their career accomplishments.
This year, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred selected Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers.
What will happen if the 2022 All-Star Game is tied after nine innings
Well, according to a report from Anthony Castovince of MLB.com, there is another part of the new CBA which explains what will happen if there is a tie after nine innings of the MLB All-Star Game.
Castrovince reported on Monday that “should the All-Star Game be tied after nine innings, the game will be settled via a Home Run Derby. Each manager will select three batters to participate, and each batter will get three swings. The team with the highest total after the three rounds wins.”
Full format details of this thing that 99.9% of us are now rooting for are in here: https://t.co/xgFFFOmQTN
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) July 18, 2022
Here’s how it would work if the MLB All-Star Game is tied after nine innings:
From MLB.com:
The managers of the American League and National League squads will each select three players (and one alternate, in the event of an injury) on his roster who have agreed to participate, as well as three coaches to throw batting practice. Each player will get three swings, and the team with the highest combined homer total after those three rounds will be declared the winner of the game.
Play will briefly be paused to allow the grounds crew to reconfigure the field. Each player who participates will get three swings to hit as many home runs as possible. Each player can take an unlimited number of pitches without it counting against their swing total.
Players on each team may hit in any order, with the two teams alternating. The visiting team (AL) will hit first and the home team (NL) second. Once all six participants have completed their swings, the team with the most total home runs shall be declared the winner of the All-Star Game. In the event of a tie, each manager shall select one of the participating players to take three swings to break the tie. This head-to-head format will continue until the tie is broken. The manager is permitted to select a different batter to participate in subsequent head-to-head rounds, as long as he was one of the original three participants (or the alternate in the event of an injury).
Never have I EVER rooted for extra innings in an MLB All-Star Game but that is precisely what I will be doing on Tuesday night!
Bring on another home run derby!
