The Philadelphia Phillies will host the MLB All-Star Game in 2026, and as that date approaches, Bryce Harper has a suggestion that would be overwhelmingly popular with fans: go back to players wearing the uniforms of their respective teams in the midsummer classic.
Harper — selected to the All-Star Game for the eighth time in his career — will play first base and hit cleanup for the National League in the 2024 edition of the game, which will be played Tuesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
He told Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times that he would like to see players once again represent their teams in the exhibition.
“If we could change back to that,” Harper said, “I think it would be really cool.”
Beginning in 2021, MLB started having the jerseys designed for both All-Star teams actually worn in the game. Previously, the NL and AL All-Star jerseys had been worn during some festivities during the week, such as the Home Run Derby. But when it came time for the game, players all wore the jerseys of their own teams. Whatever league was at home, the players on that team wore the home uniforms, typically some shade of white, of their respective clubs. The road league wore their team’s primary road jerseys, which are gray for most teams.
Because the Rangers are hosting this year’s All-Star Game, the Phillies would have been wearing their gray road uniforms under the old format.
Pageantry is a big part of the All-Star Game, and seeing players wear the uniforms of their respective teams created some iconic photos.
However, the All-Star Game was always a marketing tool for baseball, and it’s viewed almost exclusively as that today. And so for as much nostalgia as there is for the old All-Star Game aesthetics, MLB probably isn’t going to pass up on a chance to advertise another jersey they can sell to fans.
Commissioner Rob Manfred didn’t mince words when asked about the change in 2022.
“I never thought that a baseball team wearing different jerseys in a game was a particularly appealing look for us,” Manfred told The Athletic‘s Tyler Kepner.
You can decide on your own whether this is “a particularly appealing look.”
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