MLB announces full schedule for All-Star week in Philadelphia
The five-day event begins July 10 with the HBCU Swingman Classic, and the Convention Center will host the All-Star Village from July 11-14.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be a five-day event as the league announced Tuesday morning the full schedule for July’s Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia.
Citizens Bank Park will host the HBCU Swingman Classic — a showcase of the top ballplayers from historically Black colleges and universities — on July 10 and the All-Star Futures Game — a showcase of baseball’s top prospects — on July 12. The Futures Game will be followed by MLBx, a fast-paced, three-on-three competition featuring MLB legends and special guests that replaces the annual celebrity softball game.
The opening rounds of the MLB draft will be held at 1:30 p.m. July 11 at the Convention Center. The Convention Center also will host the All-Star Village — formerly known as Fan Fest — from July 11-14. Two youth tournaments — the Commissioner’s Cup (baseball) and Jennie Finch Classic (softball) — will be July 10-12 at FDR Park.
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The Home Run Derby will be July 13 at Citizens Bank Park followed a day later by the All-Star Game. The players will arrive at the game on the All-Star Red Carpet Show, but a location for this year’s show will be announced later. Last year’s show was at the ballpark, but previous shows have been held at city landmarks before the players are bused to the park. MLB could look to showcase Independence Hall this year.
The five-day event will be part of a busy sports calendar as the PGA Championship comes to Aronimink in May before FIFA World Cup games come to Lincoln Financial Field in June.
It’s baseball’s first All-Star Game in Philadelphia in 30 years. In 1996, the event spanned two days — the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game — at Veterans Stadium, while Fan Fest ran for five days at the Convention Center. Fifty years ago, it was even simpler: a workout on Monday followed by the game on Tuesday. There was no derby or Fan Fest. Now, it’s a spectacle.
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Ricky Bottalico spouts opinions each day on sports-talk radio and the Phillies' television pre- and postgame show. But before all that, he had a solid career as a relief pitcher, even representing the Phillies in the 1996 All-Star Game at Veterans Stadium. With the baseball world set to descend on Philly again in a few weeks, Ricky Bo joined "Phillies Extra" to re-live his All-Star experience. Watch here.
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Previous episodes: Preston Mattingly | Caleb Cotham | Larry Bowa | Joe Maddon | Rhys Hoskins | Terry Francona | Aaron Rowand | Hunter Pence | Paco Figueroa
