All-Star Game on Fox comes amid complaints, viewer fatigue

Is anyone in Philadelphia even planning to watch tonight MLB’s All-Star Game? Not judging by all the complaints.

The sole Phillies player expected to take the field during this year’s Midsummer Classic at Truist Park in Atlanta is outfielder Kyle Schwarber, who entered the All-Star break third in the National League with 30 home runs and who could be headed to free agency after the season.

Zack Wheeler, the only other Phillies player to get an All-Star nod, has opted not to play in order to rest up for the second half of the season.

He’s not alone. As my colleague Scott Lauber points out, 11 of the 24 pitchers initially selected were replaced, with most citing a desire to rest.

Some deserving Phillies players, such a Trea Turner, didn’t earn All-Star nods. Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez were initially snubbed before being offered the chance to pitch as All-Star replacements, which both declined to do.

All this drew ire from their teammates and pundits across the city, especially after Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski — who has pitched a total of five MLB games — received an invite.

“I mean, it’s not the All-Star Game in the sense that the best players go there, or people who have had the best season,” Turner told The Athletic. “It’s whoever sells the most tickets or has been put on social media the most. That’s essentially what it’s turned into.”

Nick Castellanos was a bit more blunt: “It’s turning into the Savannah Bananas.”

» READ MORE: A midsummer classic problem: Getting the best All-Star pitchers to commit to the game

Last year’s All-Star Game drew 7.4 million viewers on Fox, a 6% increase compared to 2023 and a larger audience than this year’s Pro Bowl (4.7 million viewers) and NBA All-Star Game (4.7 million viewers).

But the audience for the All-Star Game has been steadily declining for years, down about 32% from the 10.9 million viewers who tuned in back in 2015 and a far cry from the nearly 30 million who watched in 1985. Some of that is simply the long-term trend of cord cutting, but there’s also fatigue for an exhibition game with increasingly unknown players, and the best only remaining in the game for an inning or two.

Or as Just Baseball’s Leo Morgenstern aptly put it, the “Most-Stars Game.”

“MLB’s All-Star Game now exists to the viewing interest of fewer and fewer,” wrote longtime New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick. “Increasingly it has become an unneeded and unwanted afterthought to the Home Run Derby, which, as a gimmick, has grown tired, left for ESPN — the E stands for excess — to holler over its remains."

For those still tuning in, here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream tonight’s All-Star Game:

The All-Star Game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., and will air live on Fox from Truist Park.

Calling the game is Fox’s World Series crew — play-by-play announcer Joe Davis and Hall of Famer John Smoltz. Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci will report from Truist Park.

The game will stream live on the Fox Sports app, although it’s only available there for cable subscribers. It will also stream live on MLB.TV, although the subscription service is hardly worth it for Phillies fans in the Philadelphia market due to its blackout rules.

The game can also be streamed on a host of services that carry Fox, including FuboTV, Hulu With Live TV, DirecTV Stream, Sling TV, or YouTube TV. If you live near Philadelphia, you can also watch it for free using a digital antenna, since Fox 29 is a broadcast channel.

Fox Sports will begin its live coverage at 7 p.m. with a pregame show hosted by Kevin Burkhardt alongside analysts Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and David Ortiz.

In a preview of things to come, MLB will be rolling out its automated ball-strike challenge system during tonight’s All-Star Game.

Commonly referred to as “robot umps,” the system will allow a batter, pitcher, or catcher to challenge a call made by the umpire. Each team has two challenges and will keep them if the umpire’s call is overturned by the robots.

MLB has been testing the system in the minor leagues and rolled it out during spring training earlier this year. It could end up in the majors for good beginning next season, depending how the competition committee votes.

+ Named as a replacement