The Stars Are Out: 2022 All-Star Celebrity Softball Game

 

I've become quite fond of the ASG's trend of playing a celebrity softball game prior to the main festivities, as it's a great opportunity to see great subjects for Stars are Out. And with the All Star Game in LA this year, there was definitely more of an emphasis on pure celebrity than in years past. So, here are some highlights of people who suited up either for the Brooklyn squad or the LA squad at Dodger Stadium.

First of all...not too many former MLBers worth making customs of. Hunter Pence showed up, but I'd done one of him. Shawn Green and Andre Ethier played, but I didn't feel like doing either of them. C.C. Sabathia also made it, but I think I'd done him as well. Adrian Beltre was a nice one, as he's usually pictured as a Ranger, and I'm glad he's reconciled with the Dodgers fans after leaving for Seattle. Beltre will likely be going into the Hall of Fame in two years, but it's gonna be interesting whether he chooses to go in as a Ranger or a Dodger.

Most of the participants of this play-in game chose Dodgers gear entirely, as opposed to the option to use other teams. A few participants managed to sneak in their own team colors underneath the Dodger stuff, like J.K. Simmons and his Tigers shirt under his main uniform. Simmons had a card in 2016 Topps' First Pitch series, so there was no use making one of him. Simu Liu, best known for Kim's Convenience and for starring as Shang-Chi last year, is notably a Toronto resident, and while he did wear Dodgers colors during the game, I kinda figured he belonged more with a Jays color scheme.

Same with Joel McHale, the former host of The Soup and star of Community, who is notoriously a Seattle sports fan. Figured it wouldn't make sense to give him a Dodgers scheme, so here he is with M's colors. 

The rest of these guys I didn't have much to go by, so they're all Dodgers customs. We start with Yahya Abdul-Mahteen II, a recent standout in Aquaman, Candyman and probably something else ending in 'man'. Seems really happy to be there, too.

There was one cool other-sport pick here [in addition to Jennie Finch, who has become a staple of these events because she's a rare celebrity get who can actually pitch softballs], and it was olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim. Kinda cool, there. 

I was surprised to see Jimmy Kimmel's sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez as a participant in the game, I thought Jimmy would have him doing the roving reporter schtick for a bit on the show. But the show's on hiatus, so here he is anyway.

The biggest current celebrity might have been Bad Bunny, whose music career has made him a true celebrity in the LA area, as well as an acting career that is taking off this summer. He looks pretty happy to be there, as well, and was all over ASG week in multiple capacities. 

Biggest one for me, honestly, was Walter White. Bryan Cranston's become an incredibly big star, and hasn't exactly skirted on his Breaking Bad success either. He's doing a lot more movies and a lot more respectable work right now, which is awesome. I honestly thought he was a pretty big get for this ASG event, so I'm glad he made an appearance and did some fun work in the outfield. I think I read that he got himself ejected for some silly reason. Hope it was just a bit.

A pretty cool bunch this year, honestly. Can't wait to see what celebrities they'll get next year in Seattle.