Yankees' Cody Bellinger Claims All-Star Game MVP

That early knock proved to be enough for Bellinger to secure the Ted Williams All-Star Game MVP Award. He became the second Yankee in the past five years to have his name engraved into the glass bat, with Giancarlo Stanton previously receiving the honor in 2022.

Bellinger also became the fourth Yankee ever to be voted All-Star Game MVP. Despite the Yankees' illustrious history, they wouldn't field an All-Star Game MVP until Derek Jeter in 2000; the award had been given out every year since 1962 (barring 2020, in which there was no All-Star Game due to the COVID-19 pandemic). But since Jeter, the Bronx Bombers added three more recipients: Mariano Rivera in 2013, Stanton in 2022, and Bellinger on Tuesday.

The Yankees are now one of seven teams with at least four All-Star Game MVP awards, joining the Baltimore Orioles (six), Boston Red Sox (five), Cincinnati Reds (five), Los Angeles Angels (four), Los Angeles Dodgers (five) and San Francisco Giants (six).

Bellinger's two-run knock was one of just three scoring plays in the game. Yankees teammate Ben Rice followed with another RBI single, while Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an insurance run in the eighth inning by blasting a monster solo shot into the second deck in left field. Outside of these plays, the All-Star Game was dominated by pitching, with American League hurlers allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out 15.

The 4-0 victory continues the American League's 30-year reign of dominance in the Midsummer Classic; since 1997, the Junior Circuit is 24-4-1 against the Senior Circuit.