The Chicago Cubs last hosted the All-Star Game at Wrigley Field in 1990. Strictly and mathematically speaking, then, they should be due another All-Star Game right around 2020 (30 teams, 30 hosts and all that).
Of more actual impetus for hosting, though, are the current renovations ongoing at Wrigley, which, when completed, are going to make for something MLB will want to show off. And what better way to show off the new digs at the old ballpark than with a national event like the All-Star Game?
Sure enough, it sounds like that’s the plan, based on Bruce Levine’s interview with Commissioner Rob Manfred.
[adinserter block=”1″]Although the Commissioner wouldn’t make an explicit promises about the timeline for an All-Star Game, he did say that it makes sense for the Cubs to host when the renovations are complete, and that the All-Star Game is currently booked out through 2018 (in Washington). Thereafter, nothing has been set, and there is a kind of open competition for hosting thereafter. Notably, the renovations are Wrigley are currently scheduled for completion by 2019.
Before Manfred took over, the All-Star Game had alternated between AL and NL cities annually, which would have made the timing for the Cubs much trickier (there were several NL teams ahead of them in line, so to speak). Now, with a more open bidding process, the Cubs could still get the game in 2019 or 2020, even though it is in an NL park in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Usually, the host is announced several years in advance, so it’s possible we could learn very soon about the Cubs hosting the game in 2019. If not then, 2020 seems pretty likely.