Miami Awarded 2017 MLB All-Star Game

Major League Baseball has awarded the 2017 All-Star Game to Marlins Park, home of the Miami Marlins, the first time the Florida city has hosted the event. The 2017 season will mark the franchise’s 25th season of play and will mark the sixth season at Marlins Park, which opened in 2012. The event will be held July 11, 2017.

“Miami has hosted two World Series, and I am pleased that Marlins Park will now welcome the city’s first All-Star Game in 2017,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “The Marlins and the city made a comprehensive bid to hold a memorable All-Star Week during the club’s 25th season. As the ‘Gateway to Latin America,’ Miami will be a perfect venue for a global game to celebrate the summer’s best sporting event.”

Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria said, “The Miami Marlins are thrilled to host the 2017 All-Star Game at Marlins Park. This is representative of a new chapter in so many ways, including the evolution of our great city, the bright future for our ballclub, and even the sport itself, as we welcome our new and dynamic commissioner to the helm. It’s an exciting time for baseball and we look forward to hosting one of its iconic events in 2017.”

The Marlins will follow this year’s host, the Cincinnati Reds, and the 2016 host, the San Diego Padres, marking three consecutive National League hosts from 2015–2017. The Midsummer Classic traditionally has alternated sites between American League and National League stadiums, but MLB had received a number of bids from recently opened National League venues that had never previously hosted. Because of those bids, the league had determined that the 2017 game would be awarded to the club that made the most competitive bid regardless of league affiliation.

MLB has not hosted consecutive All-Star Games in the same league since 2006–2007. Typically, the league that hosts the game gets to bat last. But with three consecutive games now on tap from 2015–2017, MLB has decided that leagues will continue to alternate who bats last, regardless of which league is hosting the game. The order is seen as significant since the league that wins the All-Star Game receives home-field advantage during the World Series.

As a result, the 2016 All-Star Game in San Diego will feature the American League batting last. Since 2010, the designated hitter has been in effect for both sides, regardless of venue.