The 2025 MLB All-Star Game is rapidly approaching, as the best players in baseball will come together for the midsummer classic at Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.
There will be many of the usual suspects on the field for the game, which will take place on Tuesday, July 15. Among active players, Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw––who was invited to the event by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred as a "Legend Pick"––leads the league with 11 appearances in the All-Star Game.
Kershaw's 11 All-Star appearances wouldn't even sniff the top 20 in league history, however. We'll take a look at the MLB players who have made the most appearances in the midsummer classic.
Most MLB All-Star Appearances in History
Atlanta Braves legend Hank Aaron holds the record for most All-Star appearances in MLB history, having featured in the game an astounding 25 times. Of course, Aaron's figures are slightly inflated by the fact that MLB played two All-Star Games each year from 1959 to '62.
Player
No. of All-Star Appearances
Team(s)
Hank Aaron
25
Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves
Willie Mays
24
New York Giants, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets
Stan Musial
24
St. Louis Cardinals
Mickey Mantle
20
New York Yankees
Cal Ripken Jr.
19
Baltimore Orioles
Ted Williams
19
Boston Red Sox
Rod Carew
18
Minnesota Twins, California Angels
Carl Yastrzemski
18
Boston Red Sox
Yogi Berra
18
New York Yankees
Al Kaline
18
Detroit Tigers
Brooks Robinson
18
Baltimore Orioles
Pete Rose
17
Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos
Warren Spahn
17
Boston Braves, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants
Tony Gwynn
15
San Diego Padres
Ozzie Smith
15
San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals
Roberto Clemente
15
Pittsburgh Pirates
Nellie Fox
15
Chicago White Sox
Johnny Bench
14
Cincinnati Reds
Barry Bonds
14
Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants
Ernie Banks
14
Chicago Cubs
Derek Jeter
14
New York Yankees
Frank Robinson
14
Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels
Ivan Rodriguez
14
Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers
Alex Rodriguez
14
Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees
Now, let's look at the active players with the most All-Star appearances, including this season's nod.
Most MLB All-Star Appearances Among Active Players
Player
No. of All-Star Appearances
Team(s)
Clayton Kershaw
11*
Los Angeles Dodgers
Mike Trout
10
Los Angeles Angels
Jose Altuve
9
Houston Astros
Craig Kimbrel
9
Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Philadlephia Phillies
Justin Verlander
9
Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros
Freddie Freeman
9*
Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers
Chris Sale
9*
Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves
Nolan Arenado
8
Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals
Mookie Betts
8
Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers
Bryce Harper
8
Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies
Max Scherzer
8
Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals
Aroldis Chapman
8*
Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox
Paul Goldschmidt
7
Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals
Manny Machado
7*
Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres
Jose Ramirez
7*
Cleveland Guardians
Aaron Judge
7*
New York Yankees
Only seven players in this year's All-Star Game have made seven or more appearances in the midsummer classic. It's clear just how much more difficult it is to sustain a streak of All-Star appearances in the modern game.
Twenty-five All-Star appearances certainly seems an impossible feat nowadays, especially given that even the lengthiest MLB careers don't often span 25 seasons. That's not to take away from Aaron's iconic career, in which he was an All-Star in 21 of his 23 years in MLB. Still, Aaron, and some others who played in the late 1950s and early '60s, benefitted from four seasons with two All-Star Games, helping them pad their tallies.
In today's game, there's much more emphasis placed on injury prevention and, as such, more time spent on the recovery process. This is best evidenced through the recent surge in UCL injuries and the subsequent Tommy John procedure required to repair the injury. That surgery comes with an extremely lengthy recovery process, effectively robbing some pitchers of a full season or more of their career.
The way the game is played today, with so much more attention to detail, a more complete array of statistics and advanced metrics and more focus on injury prevention, Aaron's record of 25 All-Star appearances won't be broken any time soon, if ever.