‘I Thought They Were Kidding’: The Thrill and Confusion of MLB’s First All-Star Swing-Off

ATLANTA — Late in the ninth inning of a 6-6 game Tuesday night, Robbie Ray noticed National League All-Star manager Dave Roberts coming down the dugout steps.

“You won’t believe this,” Ray recalled Roberts telling the group.

Moments later, Ray noticed someone running out from center field at Truist Park with an L-screen. Meanwhile, fellow Giants starter Logan Webb looked out to the NL bullpen and noticed there were no pitchers left.

Ray, Webb and many players on both teams were about to learn that the first ever All-Star Game swing-off would determine the result of the 95th Midsummer Classic.

“We were like, ‘What is going on right now?’” Ray recalled.

“I honestly had no clue that this was a thing,” Webb added.

The last time an All-Star Game was tied after nine innings in 2018, it went into extra innings. As of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, that’s no longer how it works.

Before Tuesday’s All-Star Game, Roberts and American League manager Aaron Boone had to declare three players who would take part in a swing-off should the game be tied after nine.

Both skippers decided on hitters who would be playing toward the back end of the contest, which meant selecting reserves. Most of the starters, after all, only play a few innings. Many of them leave once they get pulled. That meant no Cal Raleigh, who won the Home Run Derby the night prior. No Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge for the swing-off, either.

Roberts had asked Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber on Monday if he would be up to it.

“I said, ‘Absolutely,’ not thinking we were going to end up in a tie when you say yes,” Schwarber recalled.

Schwarber had done the Home Run Derby twice before, but this format was something entirely different.

The three players selected from each team would get three swings to decide the outcome. The team with the most total home runs would be crowned the victors.

“It was kind of like the baseball version of a shootout,” Schwarber explained.

Initially, it was going to be Eugenio Suárez, Schwarber and Pete Alonso for the NL squad against Brent Rooker, Randy Arozarena and Jonathan Aranda on the AL side. But Suárez had gotten plunked by a 96 mph fastball from Shane Smith earlier in the night. X-rays were negative on Suárez’s pinky, but he would need to be replaced in the swing-off.

In the bottom of the ninth, one of the NL coaches approached first-time All-Star and lone Marlins representative Kyle Stowers to tell him he would be filling in.

Stowers, like the Giants pitchers, had no idea what was happening.

“I thought they were kidding,” Stowers said. “I literally thought they were messing with me.”

Once Roberts came and delivered the news, he knew it wasn’t a joke. At first, he was hesitant to participate. If he was asked instead of told, he probably would have declined. Ultimately, though, he was grateful that they nudged him to compete.

“When I really step back and think about it, I don’t know why I was telling them I didn’t want to do it or wouldn’t have done it,” Stowers said. “Those are the moments we all kind of live for as players, to care at that level of intensity in that type of moment.”

The NL trailed 2-0 in the swing-off after Brent Rooker, who participated in the actual Home Run Derby the night before, homered on two of his three swings.

Stowers then cut the deficit to one with a home run on one of his three swings.

“I can’t stress this enough, as athletes sometimes you get so caught up in the threat of something,” Stowers said. “We’re human, we have fear of failure — at least for myself, I’ll speak for myself — sometimes I can let fear of failure get in the way of opportunity. For me, that was something in that moment I was reminding myself, ‘Hey, this is an opportunity to do something cool, something fun.’ Those truly are moments I want to be a part of.”

Randy Arozarena added one home run to the AL’s tally, bringing Schwarber to the plate trailing by two homers.

“He said he was nervous, but I don’t believe him at all,” Webb said. “That’s the guy you want in that situation.”

Pitching to Schwarber was Dodgers third-base coach Dino Ebel. On Sunday, Ebel’s son, Brady, was selected by the Brewers with the 32nd overall pick in the MLB Draft. Two days later, Ebel was helping pitch the National League to an All-Star victory.

Schwarber had taken batting practice from Ebel before, back when they were both part of Team USA at the World Baseball Classic. On Tuesday, Ebel asked Schwarber where he wanted the pitch.

“Just middle,” Schwarber responded. “He’s like, ‘I got you.’

The All-Stars who had stuck around hovered on the dirt outside their respective dugouts, hanging on every pitch.

All except for Alonso, who was in the cage getting ready, in case he had the opportunity to finish the task.

“I’m watching in the cage as I’m taking my swings, and everyone, you see them going, ‘Hell, yeah, Schwarbs!'” Alonso recalled.

Ultimately, the NL wouldn’t need a third hitter.

Schwarber went a perfect 3-for-3, launching home runs 428, 461 and 382 feet to put the NL ahead. Aranda needed one home run to keep the competition going but was unable to sneak a baseball over the fence.

Pandemonium ensued in front of the NL dugout as the All-Stars mobbed Schwarber, who earned MVP honors in an All-Star contest unlike any other.

“We had a blast watching it, all the guys that were still here,” Webb said. “I got a group text of a bunch of other baseball players around the league, and they seemed to really like it, too. I think it was an awesome way to end it.”

Rowan Kavneris an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at@RowanKavner.

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