When it comes to rule changes, MLB has made (and continues to make) plenty of mistakes over the years. But I guess even Rob Manfred can get something right once because the 2022 MLB All-Star Game will have the tiebreaker everyone needs to see happen.
The 2002 MLB All-Star Game ended in a tie when both teams ran out of players, and rather than have some contingency plan in place to determine a winner, then-commissioner Bud Selig ended the game. Then, in a huge over-correction, MLB had the All-Star Game determine homefield advantage for the World Series from 2003 to 2016.
If only they thought of this back then …
It's officially official: 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.
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) July 18, 2022
According to MLB Network’s Anthony Castrovince, the All-Star Game will go into a brief Home Run Derby to determine a winner if the game is tied after nine innings. The managers select three batters with each getting three swings. The team with the highest total after three rounds wins the All-Star Game. It’s so simple, yet so fun. It’s basically baseball’s version of a penalty shootout.
Since 1950, just 11 All-Star Games have gone into extra innings. It doesn’t happen often, but this rule change was enough to have MLB fans rooting for that nine-inning tie. Some wouldn’t mind seeing it in actual games too.