Mayor Tom Barrett wrote Major League Baseball a letter Friday afternoon, asking Commissioner Rob Manfred to consider Milwaukee as the home of the soon-t0-be-relocated 2021 MLB All Star Game.
The letter comes after Major League Baseball announced Friday that it would move its famed midseason exhibition game out of Atlanta, Georgia after the state's Republican-led legislature passed new laws restricting voting rights.
The festivities were expected to feature a significant tribute to baseball great Hank Aaron, who died this past January and spent much of his incredible career in Atlanta when the Braves moved there from Milwaukee.
Here is the full release from MLB. The money line from commission Rob Manfred: “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.” pic.twitter.com/3tghCUDM47 — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 2, 2021
The following is Mayor Barrett's letter to Commissioner Manfred:
"I share your concerns about efforts to restrict voting rights in Georgia and elsewhere in the United States. And, I approve of your decision to relocate the 2021 All Star Game.
"As you review alternative sites for the game, I ask you to consider Milwaukee. It is a particularly appropriate location to honor Hank Aaron who is a revered and beloved former Milwaukeean. He started and concluded his Major League career with teams here.
"The City of Milwaukee would be honored to host the All Star Game, and you would have the full support of my office to make the festivities a success."
In addition to its connection to Aaron, Milwaukee is a potential contender thanks to American Family Field's roof (ensuring the game would be played no matter the weather conditions), the state's nation-leading vaccination numbers and the significant time elapsed since the city last hosted the All Star Game back in 2002.
Some other notable cities tossed out as possibilities include Arlington – a brand new stadium that hasn't hosted the All Star Game yet and already pitch hit in desperate times for the MLB last season when it held the World Series – and Kansas City.
The latter doesn't have a new stadium and hosted recently in 2012, but it is the home of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, a key tie to the sport's history which also had to cancel much of its 100th anniversary last year due to the pandemic. The museum would tie in with a Hank Aaron tribute, considering the iconic slugger got his start playing professional baseball in the Negro Leagues with the Indianapolis Clowns.
Like Barrett, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas publicly tossed his city's hat into the ring for the All Star Game.
Kansas City respects voting rights and would welcome the return of the @MLB All-Star Game. https://t.co/8ba83h6INJ — Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) April 2, 2021
Stay tuned to OnMilwaukee for any updates.
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.
