Major League Baseball Will Move 2021 All Star Game Out of Atlanta

Major League Baseball announced on April 2nd that it will move the 2021 All Star Game out of Atlanta to another location. The MLB draft, which has been added to the All Star Game activities this year, will also be moved. According to baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, this move is in response to the state legislature passing, and the governor signing, controversial Georgia law S.B. 202, which has been widely criticized as restricting Georgians’ voter access.

Manfred released a statement that said in part:

Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with Clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views. I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.

Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box. In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States. We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.

Not surprisingly, the Atlanta Braves expressed disappointment over the decision. The Braves last hosted the All Star Game in 2000 at Turner Field. This game would have been played at Truist Park (the former SunTrust Park), which opened in 2017.

Manfred did not announce where the new site will be, only that it is “finalizing a new host city”. The 2022 All-Star Game is scheduled for Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and that venue will not host this year’s game according to what an unnamed source told ESPN. Atlanta was selected for this year’s game back in 2019, so they are really going to have to fast track everything wherever the new location turns out to be.

There was no All-Star game last year in the Covid shortened season, so here’s the highlight reel from the 2019 game: