MLB Says 2022 MLB All-Star Game Will Be Settled by HR Derby If Tied After 9 Innings

Monday's Home Run Derby may not be the only one during MLB's All-Star break.

Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com reported Monday that Tuesday's All-Star Game will be decided by a home run derby if it is tied after nine innings.

Each side will send three batters to the plate, and the team with the most long balls after they all take three swings will be the winner.

One extra-innings affair at an All-Star Game altered the course of baseball history, as then-Commissioner Bud Selig implemented a rule that the winner of the exhibition contest would determine home-field advantage in the World Series after the American and National Leagues tied in 2002.

Both sides ran out of pitchers in the 7-7 draw, which prompted the rule change to incentivize managers and players to take the game more seriously.

The new collective bargaining agreement in 2016 eliminated the home-field advantage rule, and the team with the best regular-season record enjoys such an advantage in the Fall Classic.

The All-Star Game went 15 innings in 2008 and 10 innings in 2017 and 2018. The AL won all three of those contests and has enjoyed a 15-3 record since that 2002 tie.

The NL will look to break an eight-game losing streak Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

That a home run derby could determine the winner is not surprise considering Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported in March that the league and players association reached a temporary agreement as part of collective bargaining negotiations that such a tiebreaking method would be used.

It would surely add an element of excitement to the game and give some of the best sluggers the chance to shine in an amusing moment with only bragging rights at stake.