The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw practices for the MLB All-Star game.
(Image credit: Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Thankfully, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game no longer determines home field advantage in the World Series. While the competitive juices won't be flowing so strenuously as before, there are still plenty of reasons to tune in at 7:30 p.m. to watch the American League square off with the National League in Cleveland.

Youth movement — We get it. Football is still the most popular in the U.S. and the NBA dominates online culture. But America's national pastime has its own share of exciting young stars. The Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mike Soroka, the New York Mets' Pete Alonso (who just won a thrilling Home Run Derby on Monday), the Los Angeles Dodgers' MVP candidate Cody Bellinger, and the Cincinnati Reds' Luis Castillo have taken the league by storm, and they'll be front and center on Tuesday evening. All told, Tuesday's game features 31 first-time participants, the most since 2016.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.