MLB cancels 2020 All-Star Game; Dodgers will now host in 2022

Major League Baseball officially canceled the 2020 All-Star Game on Friday and announced that the 2022 game would be played at Dodger Stadium.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had been set to host this year's All-Star Game on July 14 before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the start of the 2020 MLB season, which is now set to begin July 23 or 24.

"Once it became clear we were unable to hold this year's All-Star festivities, we wanted to award the Dodgers with the next available All-Star Game, which is 2022," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "I want to thank the Dodgers organization and the City of Los Angeles for being collaborative partners in the early stages of All-Star preparation and for being patient and understanding in navigating the uncertainty created by the pandemic. The 2022 All-Star celebration promises to be a memorable one with events throughout the city and at picturesque Dodger Stadium."

The 2021 All-Star Game will be played in Atlanta.

In a statement, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten thanked Manfred for awarding another All-Star Game to the team.

"As excited as we were to host this year's All-Star Game, we know that it will be worth the wait and that Dodger Stadium and Los Angeles will host a world-class event in 2022," Kasten said.

This will be the first time since 1945 that no game will be held. Travel restrictions because of World War II kept the game scheduled for Boston's Fenway Park and any player selections from taking place that year. It was pushed back to the next season.

The Dodgers hosted the only the Midsummer Classic in Dodger Stadium history in 1980, won 4-2 by the National League.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report