Ranking the 13 most memorable moments in MLB All-Star Game history

Baseball’s All-Star Game has produced as many indelible snapshots as it has box scores. And at least 13 of those moments still shape how we think about the sport’s midseason showcase.

The 96th MLB All-Star Game will take place at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 14, at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. The contest will be televised on Fox and streamed on the Fox Sports app.

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The American League holds a 48-45-2 advantage over the National League in the All-Star Game, which dates back to 1933.

Although the importance of the final score has dimmed in the modern era, the All-Star Game still produces incredible, unforgettable moments every summer.

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This list runs through the 13 best MLB All-Star Game moments ever, from pure on-field greatness to the emotional goodbyes that made a so-called exhibition feel like something more.

13. David Ortiz’s All-Star farewell in 2016

David Ortiz used his last All-Star Game in 2016 in San Diego the way he used most microphones: to connect. He received standing ovations, hugged rival stars at first base and in the dugout and took a moment to address the crowd as only Big Papi could.

Ortiz did not deliver a walk-off hit or a late home run, but his presence and the reactions from players who had competed against him for years underscored how much the All-Star stage can become a farewell tour stop for the sport’s biggest personalities.

The American League claimed a 4-2 victory behind early home runs from Kansas City Royals Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez.

12. The 15-inning epic in 2008 at old Yankee Stadium

The final All-Star Game at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008 turned into a marathon that tested everyone involved. The American League and National League traded runs all night and blew save chances on both sides. Finally, things dragged out to 15 innings before the AL scratched out a 4–3 win on a sacrifice fly from Michael Young.

Along the way, there was a long ovation for Derek Jeter in his home park, managers burning through pitchers, and a growing sense that the game might never end. It was messy and controversial in spots. But it captured the stakes people had layered onto the event after tying it to World Series home-field advantage.

11. The first All-Star Game in 1933

The All-Star Game began as a one-off idea in 1933 at Comiskey Park, conceived as part of a world’s fair promotion during the Great Depression. It quickly became more than a stunt. Fans saw Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and the rest of the era’s icons sharing a field in a way that regular-season play could not deliver.

Ruth homered, naturally, and the American League won 4–2, but the real significance was the proof of concept. The success of that afternoon in Chicago is the reason we still clear a night in July every year.

10. Dave Parker’s right arm wins MVP in 1979

Pittsburgh’s Dave Parker had a hit and an RBI in the National League’s 7-6 victory in the 1979 All-Star Game at the Kingdome in Seattle. But that’s not why he was named MVP. Parker made two incredible throws from right field, one to gun down Jim Rice at third base in the seventh inning and the other to nab Brian Downing at the plate to end the eighth.

The NL took the lead in the top of the ninth on three walks and a balk and closed it out.

9. Ted Williams tribute and All-Century Team at Fenway in 1999

The 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park is as much remembered for the pregame ceremony as anything that happened after first pitch. A who’s who of living legends from the All-Century Team lined the field, and then a golf cart emerged from the tunnel carrying a frail but smiling Ted Williams.

Pitchers huddled around him near the mound, hitters leaned in to listen, and the stadium roared as Williams raised his cap. The game itself, a 4-1 American League win, turned into Pedro Martinez’s personal showcase, but the lasting snapshot is the greatest players in the world acting like kids around the Splendid Splinter.

8. Ichiro’s inside-the-park home run in 2007

Ichiro Suzuki delivered the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star history in 2007 at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, and the play was as chaotic and precise as his game usually was. He ripped a ball off the right-center field wall, watched it take a carom away from Ken Griffey Jr., and went into full sprint mode.

By the time the throw came in, Ichiro was striding across the plate. He finished 3-for-3 and took home MVP honors in the 5-4 American League victory, but the image that lasted was a Hall of Famer using every inch of his skill set in one mad dash.

7. Mariano Rivera closes out 2013 on center stage

Mariano Rivera’s last All-Star appearance in 2013 at Citi Field turned a routine eighth inning into a tribute. As he jogged in from the bullpen, both dugouts emptied and left the field to him, standing on the mound alone while the crowd roared.

Rivera did what he always did, carving through the middle of the National League lineup and grabbing the All-Star MVP. For a reliever who spent a career finishing games in relative isolation, getting the entire event to himself for a minute was a rare public acknowledgment of his place in the sport. The AL ended up winning 3-0 with its pitchers allowing just three hits.

6. Cal Ripken Jr. homers in his farewell in 2001

Cal Ripken Jr.’s final All-Star Game in Seattle looked scripted from start to finish. Before first pitch, Alex Rodriguez orchestrated a position swap, waving Ripken over to shortstop so he could stand once more where he built his legacy.

In the third inning, Ripken turned on a pitch and drove it out to left, drawing a long ovation. He walked away with the game’s MVP award and a moment that blended respect from his peers, nostalgia for the Iron Man’s streak, and a reminder that he could still impact a game with one swing. The AL earned a 4-1 triumph.

5. Reggie Jackson sends one nearly out of Tiger Stadium in 1971

Long before he earned the nickname “Mr. October,” Reggie Jackson played in his second All-Star Game at Tiger Stadium in 1971. Jackson, then a member of the Oakland A’s, entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the third inning with the American League down 3-0. He blasted a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Dock Ellis an estimated 532 feet off a light tower on the stadium roof. The two-run blast spurred a four-run inning and led the AL to a 6-4 win.

4. Carl Hubbell fans five Hall of Famers in 1934

New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell faced five straight eventual Hall of Famers in a row at the 1934 All-Star Game at the Polo Grounds. No sweat. Hubbell struck out American Leaguers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Fox, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession.

Hubbell finished his three innings allowing just two hits and no runs. The American League pounced thereafter, scoring nine runs in the next three innings to pull out a 9-7 victory.

3. Pete Rose collides with Ray Fosse in 1970

The 1970 All-Star Game in Cincinnati is remembered for one play that still sparks debate about effort in an exhibition. With the game tied in the bottom of the 12th, Pete Rose rounded third on a Jim Hickman single and barreled full speed into catcher Ray Fosse at the plate, scoring the winning run in a 5-4 NL victory and sending Fosse sprawling.

Rose’s collision fractured Fosse’s shoulder and altered his career, and it turned a supposed friendly showcase into a flashpoint about how hard players should go in July. Decades later, whenever people argue about the All-Star Game “mattering,” the conversation eventually circles back to that night at Riverfront.

2. Ted Williams walks it off in 1941

Ted Williams’ 1941 season has been mythologized for the .406 average, but his All-Star moment that summer at Briggs Stadium in Detroit belonged on the same reel. With the American League trailing 5–4 in the bottom of the ninth, Williams came up with two on and two out and smashed a three-run walk-off homer into the right-field stands for a 7-5 AL victory.

He rounded the bases leaping and clapping, a rare show of raw emotion from a player known for his intensity. In an era before constant national broadcasts, that swing helped cement Williams as the defining hitter of his generation.

1. Bo Jackson announces himself to America in 1989

Bo Jackson’s first All-Star plate appearance might be the single most famous swing in Midsummer Classic history. Leading off for the American League in 1989 at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, Jackson launched a massive home run to dead center off Rick Reuschel, immediately validating all the stories about his otherworldly talent. Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully reacted to the blast with, “Bo Jackson says hello.”

He followed it up with a stolen base, a near-highlight catch and an MVP award in a game that doubled as a national introduction. That night became the shorthand example of what the All-Star Game can be when a unique talent gets the stage and runs with it. The AL claiimed a 5-3 triumph.