AllStar Game set to move to Denver
Major League Baseball plans to relocate the AllStar Game to Coors Field in Denver after pulling this year’s Midsummer Classic from Atlanta over objections to sweeping changes to Georgia’s voting laws, according to a person familiar with the decision.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday night because MLB hadn’t announced the move. The commissioner’s office is expected to declare Tuesday that the Rockies will host the game.
ESPN was first to report the decision.
MLB pulled the July 13 game from Truist Park in Atlanta in response to Georgia voting rules that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp quickly signed into law March 25. Critics, including the CEOs of Atlantabased Delta Air Lines and CocaCola, have condemned the changes as restrictive.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made the decision to move the AllStar events and the amateur draft from Atlanta after discussions with players and the Players Alliance, an organization of Black players formed after the death of George Floyd last year, the commissioner said.
Kemp has vowed to defend the measure, and other Republicans have criticized MLB’s move.
Coors Field last hosted the AllStar Game in 1998, the fourth season for the stadium and sixth for the Rockies’ franchise.
Briefly: The Braves brought back relievers Carl Edwards Jr. and Jesse Biddle and signed infielder Yolmer Sanchez to minorleague contracts . ... Cincinnati outfielder Nick Castellanos was suspended for two games and fined for his role in a brawl Saturday, but he will not serve the ban while he appeals.