2023 MLB All-Star Game: Top Storylines to Track for Both Rosters

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game changes venue every year, but the final result of the exhibition has been the same for the last decade.

The American League carries a nine-game ASG winning streak into Tuesday's showcase inside T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

In fact, the AL is 21-3-1 in the Midsummer Classic dating back to 1997.

Shohei Ohtani and Co. will try to retain the ASG title, but the AL will have to do so without Aaron Judge and Mike Trout, who were both voted in as starters, but will miss the game due to injury.

Additionally, the AL will not have Ohtani's pitching talent available. The Japanese megastar left his last start for the Los Angeles Angels with a blister and only plans on hitting in Seattle.

The NL roster includes three of the top four leaders in batting average and hits, as well as three of the best home-run hitters in baseball this season.

The AL pitching staff held the NL to three runs or fewer in eight of the last nine All-Star Games, but extending that run could be difficult without Ohtani and ERA leaders Framber Valdez and Shane McClanahan toeing the rubber in Seattle.

American League's Winning Streak

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LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 19: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels singes to center in the first inning during the 92nd MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The AL is the dominant league in the All-Star Game.

The nine-game winning streak put the AL in front of the NL in the all-time record at the Midsummer Classic. The AL is 47-43-2.

The AL did not always control the All-Star Game. The NL won all but one ASG between 1963 and 1982.

There is no correlation between ASG success and team achievements during the MLB season since three of the last four World Series champions came from the NL.

The World Series titles have been split in half between the two leagues over the last 10 years while the AL has been in control of the ASG. There was no All-Star Game in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pitching may be the biggest key of the winning streak since the NL eclipsed three runs just once since 2013.

Yes, having the likes of Ohtani, Trout, Judge and other sluggers help the AL's cause, but the stacked pitching lineups have been more important, which is why the NL has a window to win in 2023.

AL Roster Missing Plenty of Stars

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HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 08: Framber Valdez #59 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park on July 08, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

The AL appears to be at a disadvantage in star power due to injuries and lack of availability for pitchers.

Valdez, the MLB's ERA leader, McClanahan and Ohtani will not pitch for the AL. Valdez would be on short rest if he threw, McClanahan is on the injured list and Ohtani is managing the blister that affected his last start.

Judge and Trout being on the injured list hurts the AL starting lineup's firepower as well.

The AL pitching staff can still turn to Gerrit Cole, Nathan Eovaldi, Pablo Lopez and the Seattle duo of Luis Castillo and George Kirby, but they may have a smaller margin of error without two superstars in the starting lineup.

The NL will not have Spencer Strider, Marcus Stroman or Clayton Kershaw available for its pitching staff, but its entire starting lineup is in tact and that may allow for a better opening to the exhibition.

Can the NL Offense End Slump?

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CLEVELAND, OHIO - JULY 09: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves participates in the 2019 MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field on July 09, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The NL starting lineup possesses four players in the top 20 on the MLB home runs leaderboard.

Additionally, the league leader in batting average, Luis Arraez, will get at least two at-bats in Seattle.

That list of sluggers does not include Freddie Freeman, Sean Murphy, Corbin Carroll and Orlando Arcia, all of whom have had spectacular seasons.

Those statistics would lead you to believe the NL has a decent shot of ending the porous run at the plate in the last decade of All-Star Games.

But all of the hitters could experience trouble on Tuesday because of the start time in the Pacific time zone.

The shadows at T-Mobile Park could linger around the batter's box and that could lead to a similar situation as last year's ASG at Dodger Stadium, where the five total runs were scored in the bottom of the first and top of the fourth.