The 2021 MLB All-Star Game was filled with some of the best baseball players in the world, from several countries.
It was a truly global event: the American League starter and winning pitcher is Japanese (Shohei Ohtani), the save went for an Australian (Liam Hendriks), and the Most Valuable Player award was won by a Dominican.
The AL won the game 5-2, and it confirmed the recent run against the National League: 20 of the last 23 editions have gone to the junior circuit.
That's your ballgame. The American League takes it, 5-2, and has now won 20 of the last 23 All-Star Games. Not bad.
— Pinstripe Alley (@pinstripealley) July 14, 2021
It remains a random bit of data, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
The star among stars, the MVP of the night, was none other than Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Toronto Blue Jays slugger, who is currently making a strong run to be the first player to win the Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012, went 1-for-3 with a home run, a run, and two RBI.
The AL took the lead in the second inning after an RBI groundout from Guerrero’s teammate Marcus Semien.
An inning later, it was Vladdy’s turn, belting a long home run off Milwaukee Brewers’righty Corbin Burnes to make it a 2-0 game in the third frame.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr absolutely obliterated this 468ft moonshot against Corbin Burnes #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/7QCYa1B6RJ
— Sup Dog Sports (@supdogsports) July 14, 2021
In the fifth inning, Guerrero’s RBI groundout made it a 3-0 game and scored his Blue Jays teammate Teoscar Hernandez.
Guerrero Was The Right Choice For All-Star Game MVP
All in all, it was an impressive day for the MVP hopeful.
Did he deserve to win the MVP award, though?
The answer is yes.
With his two RBI early in the game, Guerrero helped set the tone for the AL and was the driving factor of the 3-0 lead by the fifth inning.
The NL eventually put two runs on the board, but it could never come close to the victory.
Two additional players hit home runs in Mike Zunino of the AL and J.T. Realmuto of the NL.
However, they were both solo, and each had one RBI, whereas Guerrero drove in two runs.
Only Xander Bogaerts managed to have two hits on the night among both teams, but didn’t score any runs and had only one RBI compared to Vladdy’s two.
Among pitchers, eight in the AL pitched a scoreless inning, and four in the NL did the same.
Freddy Peralta of the NL, however, was perhaps the most impressive hurler in the game, as he pitched one perfect inning with three strikeouts.
A Preview Of The AL MVP Race?
There were several top performers in a game filled with stars, but Guerrero gets the slight edge for his run-producing prowess and his long home run.
His All-Star Game MVP award is yet another accolade to what is shaping up to be a mightily impressive campaign that could potentially net him the AL MVP award.
He looks to be in second place right now given the fact that Ohtani is performing admirably as a slugger and an ace, but there is still a chance for Vladdy Jr. to make a late run.
The Triple Crown would help a lot in the mind of voters.
For now, he went home with a deserved All-Star Game MVP award.
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