Early July marks the midway point of the season, during which a three day break is taken when the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is staged.

The All-Star game pits players from the National League, headed up by the manager of the previous NL World Series team, against players from the American League , similarly managed, in an exhibition game.

Since 1989, the designated hitter rule is used when the game is played in an AL ballpark.

The league which wins the game receives the benefit of home-field advantage in the World Series (starting the first two games at one's own ballpark, and playing no more than three games out of a possible seven away).

The starting players are selected for the All-Star teams by a vote of other players, baseball writers and by the fans, either voting at games, or via the Internet, whilst the remainder of the team are selected by the two team managers (who are the two managers who represented the leagues in the previous World Series). The rosters are generally bigger than the normal 25 man rosters, typically 30 or more.

For many players, selection to the All-Star game is a career highlight (and often a major bargaining tool in contract negotiations).

The game itself is generally a "run fest". Pitchers generally won't pitch more than one inning (because they don't want to get fatigued) and won't always risk showing their best stuff. The game is usually preceded by the "home run derby" (which, perhaps not co-incidentally, became a really popular hit during the period when it's alleged steroid abuse was widespread) and also the "futures game" (an Allstar game for the best of players from the teams' farm systems) and even a "Legends/Celebrity Softball game".

The 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be the 81st meeting between the all-stars of the American League  and the National League. The game will be held on Monday, July 12, 2010 at the site of the game, Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, California, and will be broadcast on ESPN in the United States beginning at 8 PM US EDT . It will determine home field advantage in the 2010 World Series.

This will be the eighth year in which the all-star Game determines home field advantage, with the American League winning all six games to date under this format. Currently, the National League leads, 40–38–2, but has not won since 1996.

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