Aaron Boone’s All-Star swing-off lineup looks worse after Bobby Witt Jr. snub

The Schwarbombs reigned on Tuesday night. The 2025 MLB All-Star Game was tied 6-6 after nine thrilling innings, which sent the game not into extra innings, but a home run swing-off. The first of its kind, and hopefully not the last. Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber won the whole damn thing at three magnificent swings, thus earning MVP honors and a spot in the history books.

The rules were simple. The AL and NL alternated between three hitters each, all of whom got three swings to hit as many dingers as possible. Schwarber went 3-for-3 in the second round, taking the NL from a 1-3 deficit to a 4-3 lead. Jonathan Aranda laid a goose egg in the final round and the National League was crowned as victors, which has not happened in almost a decade.

Some stars, like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, refused to participate in the swing-off, which was both understandable and frustrating for fans watching at home. But c'mon, could we have asked for a better end to the game? Sometimes the hand of fate just helps everything fall into place. And sometimes Aaron Boone somehow figures out how to mismanage a HR Derby.

In addition to Judge and Cal Raleigh, the "obvious" sluggers in the AL roster, the reigning MVP runner-up was also left out of the final festivity. Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.'s name was precariously absent, and worst yet, he did not take the Judge-Raleigh path of outright refusal.

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Aaron Boone gives fans another reason to doubt him with Bobby Witt Jr. swing-off snub

Witt, who participated in the 2024 Home Run Derby and has 14 home runs with a .504 slugging percentage this season, did not receive an invitation to participate in the swing-off.

"I wish," he told reporters. "That would have been fun."

Instead, Tampa Bay Rays infielder Jonathan Aranda (.492 slugging, 11 home runs) got the final crack at things for the American League in a do-or-die setting. He died, metaphorically speaking, going 0-for-3 and sealing the victory for the National League.

This doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, as the midsummer classic has no bearing on the actual season. But it does give the anti-Aaron Boone crowd more ammo, which isn't hard to come by these days. The Yankees are probably going to make the playoffs and all, but few teams stumble into as many avoidable mistakes. If Witt was up for it... why didn't he get the nod?

Why did Aaron Boone pick Jonathan Aranda over Bobby Witt Jr.?

If we want to get technical — and something tells me Aaron Boone did not do a statistical deep dive before asking Aranda to participate — the Rays' first baseman does have a higher expected slugging percentage (.540) and hard-hit rate (55.7 percent) than Witt (.536 and 49.8 percent, respectively). But Witt has the higher average exit velocity and barrel rate, so it's really splitting hairs if we want to take the analytics route.

Witt is probably viewed as more of a line drive hitter, which is fair, but he has still produced more big flies this season. The raw power behind his swing is undeniable and launch angle doesn't really matter as long as it ekes over the fence.

We shan't try to ascribe too much logic to Boone's decision here. It's of very little actual importance and shouldn't be blown out of proportion, but there's a world in which the AL wins yesterday's game if Witt takes the stand after Schwarber. Oh well.