Hollywood usually writes the scripts in Los Angeles. But on July 19, 2022, the script for the 2022 MLB All Star Game felt a little more "blue collar" than the red-carpet setting suggested. It was hot. The air was thick with that specific Southern California summer haze. Dodger Stadium was packed with 52,518 fans who weren't just there for the celebrity sightings or the $20 micheladas; they were there to see if the American League’s dominance was actually a permanent thing or just a long-running fluke.
The AL won. Again.
That 3-2 victory marked their ninth straight win. It’s a bizarre streak if you really think about it. In a sport defined by "any given Sunday" logic—or any given Tuesday, in this case—the National League just cannot seem to buy a win in the Midsummer Classic.
The Giancarlo Stanton Homecoming Nobody Should Have Ignored
Giancarlo Stanton is a massive human being. Seeing him in person is different than seeing him on a 4K screen. He grew up right down the road in Tujunga, attending games at Chavez Ravine as a kid, sitting in the left-field pavilion where he eventually launched a 457-foot moonshot off Tony Gonsolin.
Honestly, it was poetic.
Gonsolin was having an incredible year for the Dodgers, but the All-Star Game is a different beast. In the fourth inning, Stanton stepped up with Jose Ramirez on base. Gonsolin hung a 0-1 splitter. You don't hang splitters to Stanton. Not in his house. The ball left the bat at 111.7 mph. It didn't just clear the fence; it felt like it cleared the entire neighborhood.
Moments later, Byron Buxton followed up with a solo blast. Back-to-back. Just like that, the American League turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead. That was the game. The scoring just... stopped.
Why the Pitching Was Actually the Real Story
While everyone talked about Stanton’s power, the pitching in the 2022 MLB All Star Game was a masterclass in modern velocity. We saw Shane McClanahan starting for the AL, which was a huge nod to the "new guard" of arms. But the real highlight for many was Clayton Kershaw finally getting an All-Star start in his home stadium.
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Kershaw is a legend. Period.
Seeing him take the mound at Dodger Stadium for the first time as an All-Star starter felt like a lifetime achievement award delivered in real-time. He faced Shohei Ohtani to start the game. Ohtani, being Ohtani, singled on the very first pitch. It was a "welcome to the game" moment that woke everybody up immediately. Kershaw later picked him off at first base. Pure veteran savvy.
The bullpen depth in 2022 was staggering.
- Emmanuel Clase came in for the ninth and looked like he was throwing pebbles from another planet.
- He struck out the side.
- Garrett Cooper, Kyle Schwarber, and Jake Cronenworth didn't stand a chance.
- 99 mph cutters with movement shouldn't be legal.
The Mic’d Up Era and Why We Love It
The 2022 Midsummer Classic leaned heavily into the "mic’d up" trend. Sometimes it's annoying. This time, it worked.
Alek Manoah was the star of the broadcast. He was talking to John Smoltz while actively carving through the NL lineup. "Three punchies!" he shouted after striking out the side in the second inning. It removed the "stuffy" nature of baseball. It made the players look like they were actually having fun, which, frankly, the sport needs more of.
Nestor Cortes and Jose Trevino—the Yankee battery—were also mic’d up together. Hearing them navigate an inning in real-time gave fans a glimpse into the actual chemistry required at that level. It wasn't just a gimmick; it was an education.
The Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera Factor
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred added a "special legacy" selection for this game. It was a smart move. Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera were the additions.
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Pujols was in the middle of his "retirement tour" which ended up being way more productive than anyone anticipated. During the Home Run Derby the night before, the entire field of All-Stars gathered around him. It was a rare moment of genuine reverence. In the game itself, Pujols flew out to left, but the standing ovation he received lasted longer than some of the innings.
Cabrera, ever the professional, just seemed happy to be there. These two icons represented a bridge between the "steroid era" aftermath and the high-velocity, data-driven era we are in now.
The Mystery of the Missing National League Offense
How does a team with Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Manny Machado, and Paul Goldschmidt only score two runs?
Goldy hit a solo shot in the first. Mookie drove in Ronald Acuña Jr. After that? Crickets.
The 2022 MLB All Star Game highlighted a growing trend in baseball: elite relief pitching is now so dominant that even a collection of Hall of Famers can't string hits together. When you have guys like Framber Valdez, Paul Blackburn, and Jorge López coming out of the pen throwing absolute gas, the "rally" becomes a lost art.
You've got to wonder if the format favors the American League's aggressive scouting or if it's just a mental block at this point.
Looking Back: Was It a Success?
The TV ratings were... okay. About 7.5 million viewers. That’s a record low, which sounds bad, but it was still the most-watched sports program of the summer.
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The real value of the 2022 game wasn't the box score. It was the vibe. Dodger Stadium is a cathedral. Seeing the Hollywood sign in the distance while the best players in the world competed felt "big." It felt like baseball was finally embracing its stars' personalities rather than hiding them behind "unwritten rules."
Key Stats You Might Have Forgotten
- MVP: Giancarlo Stanton (2-run HR, 2 RBIs).
- Winning Pitcher: Framber Valdez.
- Losing Pitcher: Tony Gonsolin.
- Save: Emmanuel Clase.
- Game Duration: 3 hours and 11 minutes (pre-pitch clock era!).
The 3-hour-plus runtime is funny to look back on now. With the new rules implemented shortly after, games like this feel like relics of a slower time.
What You Can Learn from the 2022 Game
If you're looking back at this game to understand where baseball is headed, pay attention to the pitching matchups. The 2022 rosters were a turning point. We saw the transition from "workhorse" starters to "max effort" specialists.
Actionable Insights for Baseball Fans:
- Watch the Bullpens: If you want to see who wins future All-Star games, look at the AL's ability to develop high-velocity closers. They simply have a deeper pool of 100+ mph arms.
- Embrace the Mic’d Up Segments: If you missed the Manoah or Kershaw segments, go back and find the clips. They provide more insight into pitching strategy than any textbook.
- The Venue Matters: The 2022 game proved that iconic stadiums (Dodger Stadium, Fenway, Wrigley) elevate the All-Star experience more than the new corporate parks.
The American League continues its reign, and while the 2022 edition didn't have a walk-off or a 15-inning marathon, it gave us Stanton’s homecoming and a final look at some legends. It was a solid, if predictable, chapter in baseball history.
To dig deeper into how the game has changed since then, check out the official MLB film archives for the 2022 season or look into the Statcast data from that night to see just how hard Clase's cutter actually moved. It's terrifying.