The 94th MLB All-Star Game has come and gone, and the American League is back on top for the 10th time in 11 seasons. The game’s 5-3 final score belies what was an eclectic three-hour tilt replete with 20 pitchers, 39 hitters, pink cleats, puppy-print suits, and everything in between.
To break down the action, we’re handing out some awards. Without further ado, welcome to the Midsummer Classic: Superlatives Edition.
Most Likely to Succeed: Paul Skenes
In June 2023, Paul Skenes led LSU to its first College World Series title in 14 seasons. In 2022, he played both ways for the Air Force Academy while preparing for a future in the military. On Tuesday night, just three months into his big-league baseball career, Skenes was the starting pitcher for the National League in the MLB All-Star Game. He splinkered his way to a shutout first inning against some of the best hitters on the planet.
Through 11 MLB starts, the Pirates rookie sports a 6-0 record with a 1.90 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 66.1 innings. He and Nolan Ryan are the only two pitchers in MLB history to have multiple zero-hit, 11-strikeout starts in the same season. He’s already in historic company.
My first instinct was to name Skenes the “Most Popular” player in this year’s All-Star Game. After all, he does have major prom king energy: He’s 6-foot-6 with 70-grade flow and dates the most popular girl from his school. But that superlative feels a little too I peaked in high school. So instead, I’m going with a future-focused superlative, considering that Skenes just became the youngest pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Dwight Gooden in 1986, and the first rookie to do so since Hideo Nomo in 1995.
Skenes is just scratching the surface of his potential. May the baseball gods protect his right arm at all costs.
Best Dressed: The Umpires
For more than 80 years, MLB All-Stars wore their team jerseys in the Midsummer Classic. The games were colorful, and it was clear which franchise each player represented. Then Nike got involved in 2021 and promptly parted with tradition, dressing players in matching uniforms and removing flavor from what’s supposed to be baseball’s most vibrant night.
Last year’s All-Star garb was bad, but the 2024 jerseys took things to a new level. They rank as Nike’s worst on-field product—yes, including items from their (mostly) failed City Connect project—since the sportswear company’s partnership with MLB began five years ago.
I mean, look at these American League unis. The dijon mustard base color practically screams “graphic design is my passion”:
The National League kits weren’t much better:
Black and blue? Or is it white and gold? Either way, they’re ugly. And boring! One thing I’ve learned in life is that you can’t be both.
In fairness, commissioner Rob Manfred seems amenable to righting this wrong. During his annual All-Star Q&A, Manfred acknowledged that his office was going to “have conversations” about the future of All-Star Game uniforms. “Obviously the conversations have to involve the players, first and foremost,” Manfred said. “But [also] Nike and some of our partners. I am aware of the sentiment, and I do know why people kind of like that tradition.”
We’ll see if anything changes in 2025. Until then, cheers to the umpires, who stuck with their black tops and gray bottoms, their polished boots and light blue shirt collars. Boring, sure. But not ugly.
Most Impressive Performance: Jarren Duran
Duran grew 6 inches in the summer between his junior and senior years of high school. Before that, he didn’t think he had a future in baseball and said he hoped to one day become a Navy SEAL. Fast-forward a few years, and voilá: He’s not only an MLB All-Star, but he’s etched his name in the history books as the 2024 game’s MVP.
The Red Sox leadoff man has been a quiet sensation this season, sporting a .284/.342/.477 slash line and ranking among the top 10 in the American League in stolen bases (22) and runs scored (62). He entered Tuesday’s contest with the game tied at three in the fifth inning and promptly deposited an 0-1 splitter from Reds flamethrower Hunter Greene into the right-field bleachers to give the AL a 5-3 lead it’d never relinquish.
After the game, David Ortiz called Duran “the future of the Red Sox.”
If you didn’t know his name before, now you know. He’s all that!
Most Likely to Have That Dawg in Him: Shohei Ohtani
It was another banner evening for baseball’s biggest star.
Before the game, Ohtani rocked a custom suit on the red carpet that featured several different facial expressions from his adorable dog, Decoy. In one of them, Decoy—a Nederlandse Kooikerhondje, for those asking—was wearing a “boss” hat:
Goooooooooood boy.
In my eyes, Ohtani had already won the night’s festivities, regardless of what happened between the foul lines. But then he opened the game’s scoring with an incredibly loud, 400-foot, three-run tater off of Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck:
Ohtani indeed has that dog in him—and on him.
Most Likely to Give His Friend’s Name for Detention: Shota Imanaga
Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga also goes by “Mike Imanaga II.” Why “Mike”? Because it’s easier for baristas to pronounce. Why “II”? Because “it just sounds cool,” according to Imanaga.
On Tuesday night, the rookie ace continued leaning into his new persona, this time through song. He changed his regular walk-up music from the Fratellis’ “Chelsea Dagger” to Bernie Pitzel’s “Be Like Mike”:
We have nothing but respect for the man who owns MLB hitters with a 92 mph fastball and apparently goes by many names.
Fun aside: Before I was hired at The Ringer, I worked in IT at Gap corporate. I had zero IT training and was, quite frankly, terrible at the job. Like, the worst IT person ever. Because of that, I went by “Jeff” whenever I was talking to clients. That way, if something went terribly wrong, it wouldn’t come back to me. And it never did!
Different motives, but I get it, Mike: It’s liberating to be a different person sometimes.
Pinkest Cleats: Elly De La Cruz
I think we all know what award Elly will be getting this year. It is … the pinkest cleats award! Because he always has the pinkest cleats on! Elly De La Cruz, ladies and gentlemen:
Shout-out Louis Vuitton. I feel God in this blog post tonight.
