2011 MLB All Star Game

Date: July 12, 2011
Time: 8:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: Fox broadcast
Venue: Chase Field
City: Phoenix, Arizona

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers. In this occasion, the game was decided to be played at the Diamondbacks Stadium in Phoenix Arizona, this is the first time for both the Chase Field and the City of Phoenix to host this event. The 2011 event will be the 82nd edition of this MLB mayor league sports event.

The Chase Field is one of the state of the art stadiums in the country, with a retractable roof and airconditioning so fans and players do not have to worry about the high temperatures during the summer months. The park was designed by Ellerbe Beckett, with Bill Johnson serving as the design principal, John Watson as project manager and the Huber Hunt & Nichols company working as the managing contractor. It took over 28 months to complete the structure, at a cost of $354 million. One of the unique features about this stadium is that is has a swimming pool, it sits 415 feet from home plate and has been the recipient of many home run balls.

The retractable roof made with nine million pounds of structural steel and operating with similar technology as draw bridges and overhead traveling cranes, the roof is opened and closed with a pair of 200-horsepower motors taking a little more than four minutes. It also incorporates more than four miles of cable strung through a pulley system. It opens from the middle, so the two segments of the roof can be opened or closed either in unison or independently, depending on need.

Another unique feature about this stadium is the 136-feet-by-46-feet high definition LED board. The LED (light-emitting diode) board is so wide that it is capable of displaying two true high-definition 16:9 images side by side. The board has 880 native lines of resolution and provides video in up to 4.4 trillion colors.

Below are some of the rules that will dominate the game this time. Some of them were placed back in 2003 and other ones were just modified. Those rules are:

• The designated hitter becomes a permanent fixture of the game regardless of site.
• Whereas fans will vote the starter in, as they have done in previous years when an American League city has hosted the game, the National League's manager will name their DH before the game.
• The rosters of each league team has to increase to 34 players, replacing pitchers who have started a regular season game on the Sunday immediately before the game becoming ineligible to pitch in the game, and those pitchers will be replaced.
• As with any player who is ineligible or unable to play, they will still be recognized as an All-Star.
• The manager is now allowed to select one position player to re-enter a game in the event that the last available position player at any position is injured.

But a lot of baseball bettors feel that, the real fun of the all-star break, starts at Monday's MLB Home Run Derby. There is nothing better than watching mashers mash, and that's the whole point of the Derby. It should be epic. It also should be a lot of fun to bet on.

The Home Run Derby is an event played prior to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It is a contest among the top home run hitters in Major League Baseball to determine who can hit the most home runs. State Farm Insurance is the current sponsor for this event. Among former sponsors is Century 21 Real Estate and Service Merchandise. This year for the first time the MLB has decided for the first time to have league captains. The defending champion of last year's edition in Anaheim, David Ortiz of the Red Sox, is captain of the American League squad, while champion of the 2009 edition in St. Louis, Prince Fielder, is captain for the National League squad. The pair will pick any three players of their choice to participate in the derby.

Since 2005, a gold ball has been used once a player reaches nine outs. If a batter hit a home run using the golden ball, Century 21 Real Estate and Major League Baseball would donate $21,000 (a reference to the "21" in "Century 21") per home run to charity (MLB donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Century 21 donated to Easter Seals). In both 2005 and 2006, $294,000 was raised for the charities, equaling fourteen golden ball home runs per year. State Farm continued this in 2007 as they designated $17,000 per home run (one dollar for each of State Farm's agencies), to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. In the 2007 event, fifteen golden balls were hit for a donation of $255,000, and ten ($170,000) were hit in the 2008 event. For 2009, State Farm added $5,000 for all non-Gold Ball homers, and $517,000 was collected.

Do not miss out on all the baseball betting excitement as the game's biggest names compete and add another chapter to baseball's rich legacy. Bet the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, at Sportbet Sportsbook.

2011 MLB All-Star Week Schedule

• July 8-12

• July 10

• July 11

• July 12

American League All-Star Roster:

Starting Lineup:

National League All-Star Roster:

Starting Lineup:

2010 Results MLB All Star Game

After 13 consecutive years the National League was able to win the MLB All Star game at the Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Atlanta Braves catcher ended this losing streak for the National League, with an impressive swing secured the 3-1 victory over the American League. Washington Nationals star Matt Capps was the winning pitcher.

There was a sad atmosphere at this MLB Star Game with the passing of New York Yankees George Steinbrenner.

2009 Results MLB All-Star

With retiring 18 consecutive batters at one point, The American League (AL), won 4-3 Tuesday night at Busch Stadium in 2009 All Star Game.

The victory provides the AL with home-field advantage once again in the World Series. The AL has won all seven times since home-field advantage was attached to the All-Star Game after the tie in 2002.

It was the first All-Star Game in 10 years without a homer, and only the second time in history there was not a top-10 active hitter in the game. It was also first time president to throw out the first pitch on MLB All Star Game 2009 in 31 years.

2008 Results MLB All-Star

Michael Young's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 15th inning scored Justin Morneau with the winning run in the AL's 4-3 victory at Yankee Stadium. The 15 innings tied the 1967 Midsummer Classic for the most total frames, and the 4-hour, 50-minute affair stands as the longest game in All-Star history.

Past All Star Winners

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