The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League-affiliated prospects. From the inaugural 1999 event through 2018, teams of prospects from the United States faced off against teams of prospects from other countries.

Origins

The Futures Game was conceived by Jimmie Lee Solomon, an Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for Major League Baseball, looking for an event to showcase the minor leagues and round out the All-Star week festivities. Early versions of the game created marginal interest in the baseball community, but the event has attracted more attention in later years.

Format

Rosters are selected by a joint committee consisting of people from Major League Baseball, MLB.com, and ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' magazine. All 30 MLB organizations are represented, with up to two players from any organisation and 25 players per team. One team is made up of prospects from American League organizations and the other of National League prospects. From 1999 to 2018, teams were divided into U.S. and World teams based on place of birth. Any player selected to the All-Star Futures Game but promoted to the majors prior to the game is replaced. Players born in Puerto Rico were part of the World team despite being U.S. citizens by birth, because that territory has its own national baseball federation and national team. The game is played by the same rules listed in the ''Official Baseball Rules'' published by Major League Baseball. Exceptions are game duration and the handling of tie games. From 2008 through 2018, games lasted 9 innings. From 1999 to 2007 and since 2019, games last seven innings. Through 2018, up to two extra innings were available to settle a tie after playing all regulation innings. In 2019 and since 2021, one extra inning may be played, with each half-inning starting with a runner at second base, the last player put out. The home team wins if they take the lead in the 7th or 8th inning; the visitors win if they hang on in either inning; the game is over if it is tied after eight.

Changes in 2008

Two major changes took place in the 2008 game: * For the first time, the United States team was drawn from the pool of players selected by USA Baseball for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing. * The game lasted nine innings in regulation, rather than seven.

Changes in 2019

Two major changes took place in the 2019 game: * The teams are now called the National League and American League. Players for each are drawn from affiliates of MLB teams in the corresponding MLB leagues. * The regulation game is now seven innings. If the game is tied after seven, one additional inning is played, with each batting team starting its half with a runner on second base. The 2019 game was tied 2–all after seven innings of regulation, no runs were scored in the eighth inning, and that was how the game ended.

Larry Doby Award

:''Note: For the award winners, see the "MVP" column in the "Results" section (below).'' Each year, an award is presented to the game's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. Multiple award winners have gone on to become MLB All-Stars, denoted in the below table of game results. In 2003, the award name was changed from Futures Game Most Valuable Player Award to the Larry Doby Award, named after

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

inductee Larry Doby (1923–2003). Note that the similarly named Larry Doby Legacy Award is an unrelated award presented by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Results

George Springer 2013 Futures Game (11262165516)

Kyle_Schwarber,_2015_All-Star_Futures_Game

Notes

Media coverage

From 1999 to 2013, ESPN2 held the rights to the futures game. From 2014 to 2021, MLB Network held the rights. Beginning with the 2022 season, the game will air on Peacock.

References

External links

Official website
{{MLBAllStarGame Futures Game Futures Game Recurring sporting events established in 1999 Minor league baseball Annual events in Major League Baseball