The 2023 MLB All-Star game is in the books. The Seattle Mariners' T-Mobile Park hosted the festivities and provided a spectacular environment to celebrate baseball.

The National League defeated the American League 3-2 thanks to a two-run homer from Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz in the eighth inning. Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr.'s inaugural HBCU Swingman Classic was a great success. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the Home Run Derby, cementing himself and his father as the first father-son pair to each win it. Julio Rodriguez, the M's current star center fielder, had nothing but appreciation for his city, according to Anthony Castrovince of the MLB website.

“It was just unbelievable to have all the stars here and the energy that the fans brought, like, it was unbelievable what they did,” Rodríguez said, via MLB media. “Seattle definitely showed out.”

Rodriguez, who once again dazzled in the derby with a historic 41-homer round, got a standing ovation from the fans during the All-Star game. The 22-year-old won AL Rookie of the Year last season and has had a bit of a down year.

“Seattle's a beautiful city and MLB and the city of Seattle just did a fantastic job for this,” said Rob Thomson, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies and the NL team, via MLB media.

Seattle is a city that profoundly loves its baseball team but has had to endure decades of losing and maddening displays of incompetency. After the golden age that saw stars like Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson and Edgar Martinez make the team a playoff contender, Seattle fell into a huge rut despite the presence of superstars like Ichiro Suzuki and Felix Hernandez.

Last season, the Mariners broke a playoff drought of 21 years. Rodriguez proved to be one of the best players in the sport and revived the team along with stars like Ty France, Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert and Eugenio Suarez.

Although the Mariners are not doing too well this year, posting just a 45-44 record at the All-Star break, they are one of baseball's more talented teams and have the back half of the season to try to sneak their way into the postseason again.