Tag: 2022 MLB All-Star Game

Fans couldn’t get enough of Toronto’s Alek Manoah mic’d up while pitching in the MLB All-Star Game

“Three punchies! Let’s go!!!”

Alek Manoah was without a doubt the most charming person at the 2022 MLB All-Star Game.

In the bottom of the second, Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays took to the mound for the American League while mic’d up for Fox Sports. We’ve gotten some real good mic’d up moments in sports over the years, but Manoah absolutely takes the crown for the pure charisma on display while pitching.

During his one inning of work, Manoah was absolutely pumped on the mound, throwing out zingers like “by you!” and “don’t flinch!” as he struck out the side, leaving one man on base.

Not only that, Manoah even took a pitching request from John Smoltz in the booth while on the mound!

After his one inning, Manoah told reporters that his chatter on the mound usually doesn’t get a response from someone on the other end.

Baseball fans absolutely adored Manoah’s mic’d up session with Fox Sports.

The 2022 MLB All-Star Game had ump cams and fans loved it

Make the ump cam a permanent addition, MLB!

An All-Star Game is a perfect place to try out new gimmicks or silly shenanigans to bring some levity to an event that’s supposed to be all about the fun.

With the 2022 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, baseball fans were delighted to learn that the umpires were to wear cameras to provide an alternate and unique angle with which to see some of the plays made in the game! For a game like baseball that’s extremely set in its ways, getting a new camera angle to add some different looks to a broadcast is one way to breathe some fresh air into the sport.

Let’s take a look at the ump cams in action!

What a cool way to view the game! Not only that, Bill Miller — the umpire behind home plate — got dinged in the head with a foul ball while wearing the camera. Thankfully, Miller was uninjured, but it did make for a neat shot afterwards.

The fans have spoken, MLB, and it’s time to keep the ump cams around for good!

Shohei Ohtani called his shot by swinging on the first pitch at the MLB All-Star Game

Never let it be said that Shohei Ohtani isn’t a man of his word.

Shohei Ohtani called his shot on national TV and delivered.

On Tuesday, the 2022 MLB All-Star Game got underway from sunny Los Angeles after a rowdy and surprising Home Run Derby the day before. While Ohtani didn’t compete in the derby, the Los Angeles Angels star was set to be part of the All-Star festivities on the second day.

Ohtani was the lead off man for the American League and ahead of his first crack at the bat, the 28-year-old called his shot for the opening pitch he’d face. And what was his bet?

“First pitch, first swing. That’s it.”

And what do you know? Ohtani delivered with a bloop single into center field!

Clayton Kershaw did, however, get his revenge on Ohtani one batter later, as the pitcher was able to pick him off at first to wipe the bases clean.

Never let it be said that Ohtani is not a man of his word!

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2022 MLB All Star-Game best bets, MVP odds and predictions

The FTW Staff makes its predictions for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game

The 2022 MLB All-Star Game will open with the National League (-115) as a slight favorite over the American League (-105) at Tipico Sportsbook.

Considering the AL has won the Midsummer Classic for eight consecutive years—including six wins at NL ballparks during the streak—there might be some trepidation over backing the home team.

There’s also a new wrinkle this year bettors will want to pay attention to. If the two teams are still tied after nine innings of play, the regular extra innings rules will be eschewed in favor of a Home Run Derby consisting of three players from each side. That could complicate things for bettors who settle on the 1.5 run spread.

Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw is starting for the NL while Tampa Bay Rays ace Shane McClanahan gets the nod for the AL with first pitch slated for 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

The AL leads the all-time series, 46-43-2, and leads the all-time run-differential at 378-372.

Let’s run through some of the best bets and make a few predictions. All odds via Tipico Sportsbooks.

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Betting outcry over Home Run Derby is much ado about nothing, but MLB has some cleaning up to do

MLB might’ve dodged controversy this time around but won’t always be so lucky.

The Home Run Derby took place Monday, and it wasn’t without controversy in the sports betting community. Some of the results are being called into question, but not all of the outrage is warranted.

One of the things being questioned is Kyle Schwarber’s shocking loss to Albert Pujols in the first round. Schwarber had the second-shortest odds to win the entire event and was heavily favored over Pujols, who had the longest odds.

Because they were tied at 13 after regulation and bonus time, Schwarber and Pujols had a 60 second swing-off in which Pujols went first and hit seven home runs to reach 20. Schwarber started cold before hitting a flurry of homers in the back-half of his time and finishing with 19, just one shy of Pujols.

So what happened?

Bettors weren’t happy about a home run that wasn’t counted in that flurry, but I went back reviewed the tape, and I think ESPN got it right. The home run in question, which would’ve been No. 17, actually didn’t clear the wall. It came close, and broadcaster Karl Ravech incorrectly called it a home run, but it wasn’t. Every home run Ravech announced from there was one too many. Schwarber hit just six home runs in the swing-off, and lost fair and square to a legend.

The real blown call

The more egregious miss was in the final round when eventual champion Juan Soto was granted home run No. 15 at the end of his regulation time despite the pitch coming after the clock hit zero. That home run shouldn’t have counted, though it probably didn’t affect the outcome of the Derby. Soto was still likely to win after easily passing Julio Rodríguez’s 18 home runs with 14 seconds left to spare in bonus time. Watching the tape, he actually appeared to beat Rodríguez’s score twice after one of his bonus-time homers wasn’t counted. He only needed 19. He hit 20, as Eduardo Perez correctly pointed out on the broadcast.

One mistake was corrected by another. And that’s two too many. Even if money wagered ultimately ended up in the right hands, that can’t happen. The optics are bad. If the biggest error here is that ESPN’s cameras were unable to keep up, that’s only because pitches were allowed before previous balls landed — which officials were there to prevent.

Exhibition or not, events sanctioned for betting need to have a level of integrity necessary to maintain public trust. If rules are treated as mere guidelines to be loosely enforced, the door for controversy is left wide open. That’s what we have now. Major League Baseball has some cleaning up to do if they want to prevent more of this in the future.

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2022 Home Run Derby bracket, betting odds and picks

Pete Alonso is going for a third straight title.

The field for the 2022 Home Run Derby on Monday is officially set and full of interesting storylines.

Of course, the two-time reigning champion Pete Alonso is back to defend his crown and favored to win the event at +200 odds. A third title would tie Ken Griffey Jr. for the most all time, according to Baseball Reference. 2018 runner-up Kyle Schwarber, whose 28 home runs this season rank second in the majors, will also be there. He has the second-shortest odds at +300.

Then there’s Albert Pujols, taking part in the All-Star showcase for the final time. The future Hall of Famer has the longest odds to win at +1800, but what a moment it would be if he could finally claim a Derby victory after four previous cracks at it.

Below is a look at odds for the full field and staff picks for the winner.

2022 MLB All-Star jerseys are each team’s uniforms but in the same color, and they’re so good

MLB finally nailed it.

After years of having its All-Stars wear their own team uniforms for the Midsummer Classic, Major League Baseball brought some uniformity to the 2021 event with blue jerseys for the “visiting” AL team and white for the NL — and got absolutely roasted for how bad they were.

This year, they found a way to blend the two ideas.

2022 All-Stars will wear jerseys that resemble their own team jerseys with their unique logos on the front, but they’ll all be the same color. The NL jerseys are again white and the AL jerseys are gray — a similar shade as the Nationals’ cherry blossom City Connect alternates — with the logos emblazoned in gold. The hats are all black with gold logos.

This look is so clean.

I’ve always been a fan of players wearing their own uniforms in All-Star Games, representing for their entire city and team. But this is a great middle ground. These jerseys bring a sameness to the squads but also allow the teams each player represents to really stand out.

I’d be a fan of these sticking around in the future.

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2022 MLB All-Star rosters: Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, Yankees’ Aaron Judge lead the starters

Dodger Stadium is going to be PACKED!

In arguably the best All-Star Game in all sports, the MLB has usually done quite well in making the Midsummer Classic a fun all-around spectacle. This year’s clash at Dodger Stadium between some of baseball’s best and brightest in the American and National Leagues should be no different.

On Friday night, in the ultimate news dump, the MLB revealed the starting position players for the 2022 All-Star Game. Some names — such as Angels’ superstar talisman Shohei Ohtani and Yankees’ “Mash Bros.” Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton — are hardly any surprises.

Others? There might be some controversy. But we’re not here to dilly dally! Here are the confirmed starting position players for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in L.A. (The rest will be revealed on Sunday.)