David Wright of the New York Mets, and former Baseball Factory/Team One participant, went into Monday’s home run competition with no chance to win. Or at least those were the odds all the broadcasters were giving him. They said he was a line drive hitter and they said he wasn’t going to be able to compete in a park that was friendly to lefties. Well, David believed. Wright went into the competition’s first round and slugged an impressive 16 home runs, tying him for fourth place on the all time home run derby list for home runs in a single round. David hit six more home runs in the first round then his next closest competitor. Due to a new rule in the competition David was able to carry over his home runs into the second round. A tired David was thankful for this rule. He only managed to hit two more home runs, which put him in a tie with the Phillies Ryan Howard. In the final round David muscled four home runs, however; the surging Howard took the competition with five home runs. Even though David didn’t win, he sure proved that not only was he an All-Star, but that he was also a true threat when it came to hitting home runs. This last fact would be something he would prove again only 24 short hours later.

The 77th All-Star Game in Pittsburgh started as anticipated: a pitcher’s duel. Other than then second and ninth innings the game remained a pitcher’s duel with only 13 hits between the two teams and five runs. In the second inning, Vladimir Guerrero hit a 98 mph fastball over the right field fence to put the American League up 1-0. In the bottom of the second David Wright got his first chance at the plate. Wright again proved that he had his home run swing when he turned on a ball from Kenny Rogers and landed it in the stands in left field. Although in the ninth the National League blew their 2-1 lead and ended up losing, Wright went 1-3 at the plate and started a double play in the field. Overall, David had a very impressive All-Star weekend, which only seems to imply that he will be back for many more mid-season Classic’s. Wright participated in the Baseball Factory Pre-season All American Showcase at Dodgertown, Baseball Factory’s Rookie Program and B.A.T.S Program in 1998 and 1999 respectively. Wright also participated in the Team One National and Team One East events in 2000 and 1999 respectively.

Brain McCann, who  participated in the Team One National Showcase in 2001, was just trying to take in all the moments. Brian got his chance to shine in the sixth inning. He may have not had the at-bat or the defensive game of his life, but it all just added to the great memories that the All-Star break creates. One thing McCann will not forget is that when he was going to the stadium he passed David Ortiz, and Ortiz then pointed to McCann and said, “He can hit. He can hit.” All of this was just icing on the cake. McCann was honored to be chosen as one of the representatives from the Atlanta Braves.

Similar to McCann, Roy Halladay did not have a great game, but he had a memorable time. Roy pitched two full innings striking out one and allowing one run to score on a wild pitch. Roy faced seven batters getting four of them to ground into an out, one which was a double play. Roy continues to provide dominate pitching and this 2003 Cy Young winner and four time All-Star will continue to be a staple at All-Star games to come. Roy attended the Team One National Showcase in 1994.

A.J. Piersynski, a former Team One participant attended the Team One National Showcase in 1993 and was selected by the fans as the last player to make the American League roster in the “Final Vote”. However, A.J. never made an appearance in the game.