The MLB All-Star Game does not decide home-field advantage in the World Series. Since 2017, home-field advantage in the World Series has been linked to regular-season records. Thankfully, the MLB All-Star Game is no longer a game with any meaningful importance. These days, it's more of an exhibition tournament where all-stars compete for honors and prizes.
When the All-Star Game was first introduced in 1933, it had enormous significance. At that time, there were only 16 teams in the league so everyone wanted to prove they were worthy of making the trip to St. Louis. In addition, many stars of the day were chosen by fans who voted for them online. These days, with the exception of the final game, the All-Star Game is not considered part of the season standings. However, if one team manages to win the All-Star Game, they will normally get a home field advantage during the playoffs.
There have been years when winning the All-Star Game helped put your team on top of the world. In 1999, the New York Yankees took advantage of their home field advantage and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the final game at Yankee Stadium. Last year, the Chicago Cubs managed to defeat the San Diego Padres in the last game at Wrigley Field to clinch the best record in the NL and gain home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The answer is no, other from pride and a little additional cash. That, however, has not always been the case. From 2003 through 2016, the All-Star game was used to choose the home field in the World Series. MLB made the change after the 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee ended in a 7-7, 11-inning deadlock. The American League won the subsequent series 3-2.
The Midsummer Classic is now held each year during the week of midsummer's day. It has been so since 1998, when it was decided that the game should be played on a Tuesday night instead of its traditional Sunday afternoon slot. The change was made to give baseball's all-star game more publicity and attract new fans to the sport.
Prior to this change, the game had been played on the weekend since 1933. The National League won the first nine editions of the game, but after losing four straight from 1947 to 1950, the role became reversed. From 1951 to 1996, the game was held on Sundays (except in 1959 when it was Monday night). From 1997 until 2018, it was held on Wednesdays (with two exceptions - 1999 and 2000).
The reason why the game is held on a different day from usual is because July 4th is the earliest date on which both the American League and the National League can play their all-star games due to scheduling conflicts with their respective league's schedules.
From 2003 through 2016, World Series home-field advantage was provided to the team from the league that won that year's All-Star Game, a regulation enacted following a 7-7 tie in the 2002 Midsummer Classic. The last time these teams played each other in the All-Star Game was 2001 at Yankee Stadium. The American League won 4-3.
Prior to the implementation of the All-Star Game, league champions received home-field advantage in the World Series by default. From 1969 to 2001, this occurred when the two leagues held their Championship Series simultaneously. From 1969 to 2000, the team with the better regular season record earned the right to host games 1 and 2 if they were not already scheduled as such. If the teams remained tied after those two games, then the World Series would proceed to a best of five series. If necessary, game 5 would be played at another location beyond the Division Series stage.
From 1961 to 1968, there was no formal method for determining World Series hosts, but it usually came down to which club made the most money selling tickets. From 1900 to 1960, baseball's official schedule maker, Fred Mitchell, assigned teams to cities all over the country. From 1884 to 1899, Major League Baseball had no established schedule, so different clubs played different cities multiple times a year.
Baseball will have a World Series next autumn in which home-field advantage will be gained because one club has a better record than its opponent. It's not a novel idea. The only truly bizarre aspect of it is that it will be the first time it has ever occurred. Ever since the World Series began, each series has been decided based on who scores more runs during the season. This year, however, due to unusual circumstances, the teams are reversed from what would normally be expected.
In April, the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians played a game at Wrigley Field, the home of the Cubs. The game was suspended after six innings due to rain delays and was resumed the following day. The final score was 1-1. The Cubs won this game because they scored more runs (five) during this single game than the Indians managed in their entire season against other team's pitchers (four). As a result, the Cubs earned a quarter share of the NL Central title as well as the right to host a Game 7 if necessary.
The same thing happened last year with the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox. In that series, too, there was a game at Fenway Park that was interrupted by rain; this time, it lasted five hours. When it finally ended with no decision, both teams had the same number of wins so they shared the AL West title.
Since the first one in 1933, there have been ninety Major League Baseball All-Star Games. The American League (AL) leads the series with 45 wins and a 373-370 run margin; two games were tied. The National League (NL) has more recent victories (44-39), but since the creation of its All-Star Game in 1959, the AL has led 3-2.
The original All-Star Game was held at Chicago's Comiskey Park on July 9, 1933. The American League won that game 4-3 in ten innings. The second All-Star Game was also played at Comiskey Park four months later, on August 14, 1935. This time, the National League defeated its rival 11-10. The third game was held at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, and it too was won by the National League (8-7). From 1936 to 1939, no All-Star Game was played due to the 1937 World Series being played in 1938 and the 1938 World Series being played in 1939. From 1940 to 1945, there were three more All-Star Games played. In 1940, the format changed from an exhibition to a full-scale baseball game. The last pre-war All-Star Game was held in 1941 and saw the Yankees defeat the Cardinals 8-4. In 1942, due to World War II, there were no All-Star Games played.
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