'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.

(Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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