
Will another year go by without a Phillie winning the All-Star MVP award?
Every year, come All-Star Game time, I write about how the Phillies have not had one of their representatives capture the Ted Williams Award given to the MVP of the All-Star Game since Johnny Callison did so in 1964.
Will this be the year that a member of the Phillies ends that now 61-year drought? It seems unlikely, but let’s take a closer look at the candidates and their chances:
Trea Turner
Last year, I predicted that Turner, the NL team’s starting shortstop would win the award. It was a sensible pick as he came into the game red hot and was batting third in the lineup. But he proved me wrong, going just 1-3 with a single, and more importantly, playing for the losing team.
As I’ve mentioned before (when you re-visit the same premise every year, you’re going to repeat some things), the MVP usually comes from the winning team, and for the vast majority of the past 61 years, the winning team has been the American League. This puts the Phillies players at a disadvantage for winning the MVP, although perhaps a better showing from the Phillies’ representatives might have changed that result.
Anyway, despite leading the NL in hits, Turner was not selected to the team. It’s not like Francisco Lindor and Elly De La Cruz are undeserving at shortstop, and unlike last year, he’s coming in cold, so this wasn’t an egregious omission like others who I will mention next.
Trea Turner leads the NL in hits and is 8th in the entire sport in WAR. And somehow he’s not an All-Star. Insanity. pic.twitter.com/A80b07UEOa
— Will Desautelle (@wdesautelle) July 6, 2025
Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez
I’ve also discussed that unless the game is taking place in the player’s home city, it is nearly impossible for a pitcher to win the MVP award. So that immediately puts both Sanchez and Suarez at a disadvantage. Further hindering them is the fact that somehow neither were named to the team.
There are apparently layers to their exclusion. Sanchez pitched on Sunday which makes him ineligible to appear, and Suarez doesn’t have as many appearances because of a late start to the season. (Although it’s tough to use that argument when they just named a guy with five (!) major league starts to his credit.) There are also mixed reports about whether or not either player was asked and then declined.
I don’t want to whine too much about this since it’s ultimately meaningless, but it is a little galling that the first place Phillies will have one player on the actual All-Star team roster.
The Phillies now have fewer representatives than the Nationals https://t.co/YJj2WU8JRP
— Smarty Jones (@TheSmartyJones) July 12, 2025
Zack Wheeler
Unlike his teammates, Wheeler was rightfully named to the original roster and appeared to be one of the prime candidates to serve as the NL’s starting pitcher. But then, he dropped off the roster. I wonder if he would have gone if he was indeed named the starter, but when Paul Skenes was tabbed to start, Wheeler figured he had better things to do. (My guess is that with the game in Philadelphia next year, players in similar situations will not decline if asked.)
Zack Wheeler said he isn’t pitching in the All-Star Game because “I’d just rather get myself ready to go for the second half. … This is what I’m worried about.”
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) July 12, 2025
Since Wheeler is no longer on the official team, that reduces his chances at MVP award to about zero.
Kyle Schwarber
That brings us to the Phillies’ lone representative left on the team. Schwarber, named as the reserve designated hitter, had an All-Star worthy first half, although “Mr. June” was much better in the early part of the season. It feels like for the past month and a half, he’s basically either been in “home run or nothing” mode.
But home runs are good if you want to win the All-Star Game MVP! Part of the reason the Phillies don’t win the award is because very few of their players hit home runs in the game. J.T. Realmuto’s solo shot in 2021 was the only Phillie long ball in the past 40 years.
OTD in Phillies History (7/13/2021)
JT Realmuto hits a home run in the All Star Game!
Zack Wheeler is also a Phillies representative in the ASG pic.twitter.com/4BH4EVZV3n
— Philly Sports By Number (@philly_number) July 13, 2025
Presuming the pitching staff can keep the game close early on (Maybe that’s a bad presumption since the NL’s best rotation will somehow not be represented), then Schwarber could have a late-inning opportunity to hit one into the stands and change the trajectory of the game.
Sadly, I don’t think it will happen. The American League will once again prevail, and the MVP will come from their ranks instead.
Next year will be a different story. As mentioned, the game will be in Philadelphia, which means the Phillies will likely be better represented, and the National League is 3-0 when the Phillies are the host team. Therefore, the two shutout innings by starting pitcher Andrew Painter will earn him the Ted Williams Award and come 2027, I’ll have to figure out something new to write on the day of the All-Star game.