This article has been updated since it was originally published in 2022.
Typically the All-Star Game is preceded by a Home Run Derby a day earlier. But in the event of an All-Star tie after nine innings, another Home Run Derby will break out.
Beginning in 2022 with the current collective bargaining agreement, any All-Star Game tied after nine innings will be settled not with extra innings but with an All-Star swing-off tiebreaker decided by dingers.
Here's how it works:
The managers of the American League and National League squads will each select three players (and one alternate, in the event of an injury) on his roster who have agreed to participate, as well as three coaches to throw batting practice. Each player gets three swings, and the team with the highest combined homer total after those three rounds is declared the winner of the game.
Play is briefly paused after the ninth inning to allow the grounds crew to reconfigure the field. Each player who participates gets three swings to hit as many home runs as possible. Each player may take an unlimited number of pitches without it counting against their swing total.
Players on each team may hit in any order, with the two teams alternating. The visiting team hits first and the home team second. Once all six participants have completed their swings, the team with the most total home runs shall be declared the winner of the All-Star Game. In the event of a tie, each manager shall select one of the participating players to take three swings to break the tie. This head-to-head format will continue until the tie is broken. The manager is permitted to select a different batter to participate in subsequent head-to-head rounds, as long as he was one of the original three participants (or the alternate in the event of an injury).
The team that wins the swing-off is declared the winner by one run, and there is no winning or losing pitcher.
The new format was negotiated as part of the CBA that went into effect in 2022 and will be in place for at least the duration of the CBA, which runs through 2026.
The All-Star Game has gone to extra innings 13 times, most recently the 2018 game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., that was won by the AL, 8-6, in 10 innings. The first swing-off occurred at Truist Park in Atlanta in 2025. Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber homered on all three of his swings to clinch a 7-6 victory for the NL after the game ended in a 6-6 tie.