12up Logo

Braves Fans Excited About Hosting 2021 All-Star Game Should Pump the Brakes

By Steven Kubitza

Atlanta Braves fans may have to wait until the team hosts the MLB All-Star Game.
Atlanta Braves fans may have to wait until the team hosts the MLB All-Star Game. / Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

The 2020 MLB season is already on an indefinite timeline. The All-Star Game was supposed to be played this July in Los Angeles, but that is not likely to happen if the season doesn't start until late May or early June. In these days of COVID-19, it's worth wondering whether we're able to have a Midsummer Classic at Chavez Ravine at all.

With that in mind, we could witness a ripple effect that impacts the 2021 All-Star Game, which is set to be hosted by the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. If the Dodgers cannot host in 2020, Major League Baseball might decide to let them do it the following year, pushing the Braves' opportunity back a year. This is only speculation at this point, but Atlanta fans must at least prepare themselves for the possibility.

The only way the Braves could end up still hosting is if the league comes up with a creative way to play the 2020 event. One idea that has leaked? Treating the game like the Pro Bowl and playing it before the World Series.

Call it the Early Fall Classic.

No one knows quite how long the coronavirus pandemic will delay the sporting calendar for sure. Those in charge of the MLB have to place health and safety above all else, so we can't be surprised at this point if our best-laid plans for the All-Star Game and beyond end up getting delayed.