The 2025 MLB All-Star Game could not have ended in more dramatic fashion. Well... maybe it could have.
The National League beat the American League in a home run swing-off. The game was tied 6-6 after nine exciting innings, but rather than go to extras like a run-of-the-mill regular season match, the All-Star Game breaks ties by having three hitters from each team try to hit as many home runs as possible on three swings each.
Kyle Schwarber was the hero of the day, going 3-for-3 with some all-time tanks to give the NL a lead it would not cede. He won MVP as a result. Schwarbs is a champion, so we can hardly call this the crowning moment of his career, but it may very well be the most memorable. Folks will be talking about these three swings for a long time to come.
Kyle Schwarber goes 3-for-3 to give the NL the win 🔥
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 16, 2025
It's the first-ever MLB All-Star game swing-off 😳 pic.twitter.com/dKEUSkyRPX
It really doesn't get better than that. Schwarber does not lead the league in home runs and he's certainly not the most popular star, but I'm not sure there is a single MLB player with a more condensed and powerful swing. This was the perfect setting to unleash the Philadelphia Phillies DH.
And yet, some fans are dismayed over who wasn't in the swing-off. It was Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Stowers for the NL and Brent Rooker, Jonathan Aranda, Randy Arozarena for the AL. Those are all fantastic players with major pop behind their swings, but naturally, the fans at home can get a little greedy. They wanted the true, blue megastars swinging at these important pitches.
What is:
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 16, 2025
Brent Rooker, Jonathan Aranda, Randy Arozarena vs. Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Stowers.
What could have been:
Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. vs. Shohei Ohtani, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber.
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Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani should feel the most guilty about missing swing-off
Aaron Boone and Dave Roberts both picked their swing-off participants before the game, so this was not an in-the-moment decision. But notably, all the MVP frontrunners — Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Pete Crow-Armstrong, etc. — were absent from the game-ending Derby.
Was this a strategic decision? Probably not, unless you count Roberts and Boone saving their best players' swings for the regular season. A lot of stars avoid the HR Derby and situations like this because it can have a holdover effect on their swing once the actual season starts back up. This is mostly theory, of course, but it feels like the probable explanation. Either that or Judge, Ohtani and others just did not want to risk falling short in such an event.
That said... here's what the absolute dream six-man Derby probably would have looked like.
Order | Name |
|---|---|
AL Batter No. 1 | Aaron Judge, New York Yankees |
NL Batter No. 1 | Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers |
AL Batter No. 2 | Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners |
NL Batter No. 2 | Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies |
AL Batter No. 3 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays |
NL Batter No. 3 | Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves |
This order maximizes star power and narrative. You still need Schwarber in the mix because, well, [waves hand at video above]. But Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge going head-to-head as the first batters would've been a cinematic experience. Cal Raleigh leads MLB in home runs and just won the Derby on Monday. Meanwhile, a potential closing pair of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and hometown superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. feels... appropriate.
You can quibble with the exact order and list of names, but this probably drums up a bit more national hype than Jonathan Aranda and Brent Rooker, who hail from smaller markets. Not that they don't deserve to be celebrated and aren't worthy hitters, it's just the nature of the beast.
Why didn't Braves stars take part in All-Star Game swing-off?
Ronald Acuña Jr. missed the Home Run Derby due to back tightness but was still able to put together a couple ABs in the midsummer classic. Matt Olson was the Atlanta Braves' other All-Star in the hometown showcase. So why didn't either participate in the swing-off? Both are plenty powerful and one can't help but imagine the crowd reaction if Acuña or Olson delivered the game-winning blast, rather than a division rival's top slugger.
The simple answer, again, is that feelings of preservation likely kept many of the more prominent stars out of the swing-off. Acuña in particular felt like he couldn't swing in the Derby a day ago because of back pain, so he probably didn't want to swing out of his shoes in a mini-Derby for what is ultimately an exhibition game. As for Olson, while there is sentimental value, I'm just not sure he is realistically better than any of the hitters the National League put out there — and that's without getting to Ohtani, Acuña and the like.