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MLB

What happens if the 2022 MLB All-Star Game ends in a tie after nine innings?

The All-Star Game in Los Angeles will give fans a new spectacular way to break a tie: a Home Run Derby.

Update:
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 18: National League All-Star Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals competes in the 2022 T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium on July 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.   Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images/AFP
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
Sean M. HaffeyAFP

The All-Star Game is special due to a lot of different reasons, and in 2022 it adds another one in the way it will end if it is tied after the traditional nine innings. As Jeff Passan from ESPN has explained, if the Midsummer Classic does not have a winner after 27 outs per team, there will be no tenth inning, and instead we will get a mini Home Run Derby to cap off the festivities and declare either the American or the National League squad as victorious.

The Home Run Derby is by far the most entertaining and compelling of the All-Star events, and its popularity has only risen in the past few years after spectacular contests with the best hitters in the league. This year’s Derby, won by superstar-on-the-trade-block Juan Soto, gave fans an amazing show featuring the greatest players in the game hitting moon shot after moon shot. So why not add some of that to the All-Star Game itself?

Acuña Jr and Julio Rodríguez are up for the challenge

The manager of each League team has chosen three players in its roster to hit as many homers as they can, as well as three coaches to throw to them. Each player will get three total swings, but can take as many pitches as he wants. The NL has chosen Ronald Acuña Jr, Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber, three players who took part in the real Home Run Derby, while the AL would pair up Derby runner-up Julio Rodríguez with his teammate Ty France and Astros’ Kyle Tucker.

How often has MLB All-Star Game ended in a tie?

Players on each team will alternate and may switch in any order, with the team with the most home runs after the three rounds to be declared as the winner of the All-Star Game. In the event of a tie after this stage, managers will choose one of these players to again take three swings until the score is settled.

This format was negotiated in the new CBA and will take place for as long as the deal is up, which runs through 2026. The MLB All-Star Game has ended in a tie 13 times, most recently in 2018.