Major League Baseball Cancels 2020 All-Star Game At Dodger Stadium

Erik Pedersen
·3 min read

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It’s been a week of bad news for Los Angeles as coronavirus cases spike and new restrictions were imposed, and now comes news that the first Major Baseball All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium since the Carter Administration has been canceled.

This will be the first time in 75 years that MLB won’t field its Midsummer Classic. The last time was amid the 1945 travel restrictions as World War II was winding down in Europe and U.S. Marines were fighting their way across the Pacific.

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Instead of hosting its first MLB All-Star Game since 1980, Dodger Stadium is being used as a coronavirus testing site. MLB said L.A. instead will host the 2022 ASG — just the second in its 58-year history –with the 2021 edition in Atlanta.

“Once it became clear we were unable to hold this year’s All-Star festivities, we wanted to award the Dodgers with the next available All-Star Game, which is 2022,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “I want to thank the Dodgers organization and the City of Los Angeles for being collaborative partners in the early stages of All-Star preparation and for being patient and understanding in navigating the uncertainty created by the pandemic. The 2022 All-Star celebration promises to be a memorable one with events throughout the city and at picturesque Dodger Stadium.”

The Chavez Ravine stadium is Big League baseball’s third-oldest park behind Boston’s Fenway Park and Chicago’s Wrigley Field, having opened in 1962.

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“COVID-19 has forced us to make a lot of tough calls and sacrifices — and while it may have disrupted our plans for this year, we can’t wait to welcome baseball’s best to Los Angeles for the 2022 All-Star Game,” L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “The Dodgers have always brought Angelenos together and baseball has helped America heal time and again. I look forward to welcoming fans from all over the world to our city and Dodger Stadium for this Midsummer Classic.”

Major League Baseball’s 2020 Opening Day was sidetracked as the coronavirus pandemic spread in the U.S., but the league and its players union announced last week that there will be a truncated 60-game regular season starting in late July. But uncertainty is swirling as COVID-19 continues to surge in many parts of the country.

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