Gianaris Pitching MLB on Bringing Its All-Star Game to Queens

Citi Field (Photo Queens Post)

April 5, 2021 By Christina Santucci

A Queens state senator is calling on Major League Baseball (MLB) to bring its annual All-Star Game to Citi Field this summer.

State Sen. and Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris penned a letter to the MLB commissioner Friday, encouraging him to relocate the showcase to Queens. Baseball officials had announced earlier in the day they were pulling the game out of Georgia in response to the state’s new election rules.

“I write in light of your recent decision to move Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to their new anti-voting rights law,” Gianaris said in the letter.

The new law adds a photo ID requirement for absentee ballots, limits drop boxes for ballots and makes offering food or water to those waiting in line to vote a misdemeanor, among other changes. Civil rights groups have criticized the new law as restricting voting rights.

“I commend you and MLB for taking this important stand in favor of democratic principles,” Gianaris wrote of the decision to move the game.

Gianaris then suggested holding the baseball showcase in the Mets’ home borough.

“There is no place in America that better symbolizes what our country stands for than Queens – home of Citi Field and the New York Mets,” Gianaris wrote.

“The most diverse county in the United States was also among the hardest hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, and this would be a fitting tribute to honor the all-stars of our community,” he continued.

The All-Star Game –which features the best players from the American League facing off against their National League counterparts – is scheduled to take place on July 13.

“We are finalizing a new host city and details about these events will be announced shortly,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement Friday.

MLB officials select where the game is held each year. The All-Star Game was last held at Citi Field in 2013.