MLB All-Star Game: 5 Things To Watch For In Midsummer Classic

DENVER — The Major League Baseball All-Star Game returns Tuesday night after a one-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, will host the Midsummer Classic for the first time since 1998. MLB pulled the 2021 All-Star Game from its original host, Truist Park in Atlanta, due to a controversial Georgia voting law.

Here are five things to keep an eye on if you plan to watch the game, which airs at 5:30 p.m. MT (7:30 p.m. ET) on FOX.

Shohei Ohtani: It’s rare enough for a baseball player to be able to hit and pitch at a high level in the major leagues. What the Los Angeles Angels star pitcher and designated hitter is doing this year, excelling in both, is all but unheard of.

Ohtani has an American League-leading 33 home runs after the first half of the season and is 4-1 on the mound with a 3.49 earned run average.

He will bat leadoff, and be the starting pitcher, for the American League on Tuesday night.

American League dominance: The American League has dominated the All-Star Game for decades now. Since 1997, the National League has won the game only three times: 2010, 2011 and 2012. The American League’s current win streak is at seven.

Blue Jays have most starters: The Toronto Blue Jays, a team that has yet to play a true home game this season due to the pandemic, have more All-Star starters than any other team. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Marcus Semien and Teoscar Hernandez were all voted to start for the American League.

The Cincinnati Reds, with Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker starting in the outfield, are the only National League team with multiple All-Star starters.

The full American and National League rosters for the Midsummer Classic at Coors Field can be found here.

Related On Patch: See The MLB All-Star Game Events Schedule

Oddities: The Major League Baseball All-Star Game has provided for some of the game’s most memorable, and forgettable, moments. Among them are Pete Rose barreling into catcher Ray Fosse at home plate to win the 1970 All-Star Game for the National League, and the infamous 2002 All-Star Game tie game due to all pitchers having been used up. The 1998 All-Star Game, the only one previously held in Denver, featured home runs from Alex Rodriguez, Roberto Alomar and Barry Bonds.

MVP Watch: Ohtani is certainly a pre-game candidate to bring home Most Valuable Player honors. But often, the All-Star Game MVP has been a player least expected to win the award.

In the most recent MLB All-Star Game, in 2019, pitcher Shane Bieber won the MVP award for the Cleveland Indians at their home ballpark. If a Colorado Rockies player is to win MVP on Tuesday night, it will be pitcher Germán Márquez, the team’s only representative.