MLB Explains What Happens If All-Star Game Is Tied After Nine Innings

Major League Baseball fans may want to root for chaos at the 2022 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.

An added incentive in the new collective bargaining agreement includes a note saying if the All-Star Game is tied after nine innings, there will be a Home Run Derby between the teams to decide the winner. That’s right, baseball fans could be witness to not one but two Home Run Derbies in as many days.

In the past, the All-Star Game would go to extra innings, and during the 2019-through-2021 seasons, the game would have seen a runner start the inning off at second base — a rule implemented in the regular season but never used since the games were decided in regulation.

The last time the All-Star Game went extra innings was in 2018 at Nationals Park, and the longest All-Star Game was in 2008 at Yankee Stadium, where the game went 15 innings for a total of four hours and 50 minutes — tying the mark for the longest game by innings played at 15 with the 1967 All-Star Game.

The question for the 2022 All-Star Game is how this would play out. MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince explains.

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.

Houston Astros’ Dusty Baker is the manager for the American League team, and Atlanta Braves’ Brian Snitker is the manager of the National League team.

The players for the AL would be Ty France and Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners and Kyle Tucker of the Astros. Representing the National League would be New York Mets’ Pete Alonso, Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. and Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber — all of who competed in Monday’s Home Run Derby.

Each team is allowed to hit in any order, with both teams alternating and the AL team batting first. Whichever team hits the most dingers will be declared the winner of the All-Star Game. However, if there is still a tie, each manager is allowed to select one of the participating players to take three swings to break the tie. The head-to-head format will continue until the tie is broken.

While getting a definitive winner is nice, it’s hard not to root for a crazy outcome like a Home Run Derby to decide the All-Star Game.

NESN.com’s coverage of MLB All-Star Week is presented by Cross Insurance, protecting your team since 1954.