2010 MLB All-Star Game

David Ortiz became the first Boston Red Sox slugger to win the home run derby on Monday night, powering his way past Hanley Ramirez at Angel Stadium.

Ortiz put on a show for the fans from start to finish, and he outlasted his younger competition on his way to the silverware.

Read below to get a blow-by-blow account of the evening's home run derby showdown.

Last Thursday, Justin Verlander said he didn't feel he was snubbed from the All-Star Game.

But due to outings by All-Star starters like New York's C.C. Sabathia, Verlander was given the nod to represent Mo-Town in the mid-summer classic.

Verlander's numbers are comparable to those voted in, but during the process, his numbers weren't up to par, he said. Verlander had an 8-5 record, and a 3.85 ERA. He explained how peers and managers select pitchers—position players are placed by fan-vote.

Baseball history is littered with undeserving All-Star selections, due in large part to the rule that each team must be represented. In today's era of bloated all-star rosters, it's hard to imagine a good player playing his entire career without ever making an all-star team. Here are some of the best players to never make it to a mid-season classic.

Catcher- Cliff Johnson

Did you see Price finish the sweep against Boston? Seriously? Even with all of Boston's injuries, they are still no offensive slouch.

David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, and Adrian Beltre were no match for Price. The trio was a combined 2-for-13 with five strikeouts.

The crazy thing is, Price beat them with just one pitch: his fastball. Of his 111 pitches, 99 of them were fastballs.

But one start does not an All-Star starter make. However, this does:

Twelve wins—most in the AL.

2.42 ERA—second to Cliff Lee by .08.

Before writing this article, I had set out to prove that the Home Run Derby has no effect on a participant's second-half performance.

But after crunching the numbers, I'm not so sure.

Over the past decade, players competing in the Derby have seen their first-half at-bat-per-home-run ratio increase, on average, from 14.2 to 15.6 in the second half. This means they are going an extra 1.4 at-bats between dingers after the All-Star break.

But maybe that's normal; maybe all players get tired as the season wears on.

Well, not necessarily.

We are officially less than a week away from the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

The 81st annual midseason exhibition will definitely be one to watch, as there are several dynamics to look forward to: a cluster of new faces, a bunch of superstars coming back, and the question of whether or not the National League can beat the American League for the first time in since 1996.

Yesterday we did the All-Time National League All-Star Game Starting Lineup, based on which players had the most All-Star Game starts, by position.

Today, we look at the American League team.

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The All-Star Game rosters usually have a way of working themselves out. Usually at the end of the day, thanks to injuries and whatnot, the players who are supposed to be there get there.

Two closers who many felt were snubbed when the original rosters were announced have found their way into the game.

With Milwaukee Brewers RHP Yovani Gallardo and New York Yankees RHP Mariano Rivera pulling themselves from the game, San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell and Tampa Bay Rays closer Rafael Soriano have been named to the NL and AL rosters respectively.

Each year, one question rises to the surface following the announcement of the American and National League rosters for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game: who got snubbed by the All-Star managers?

Today, I take a look at the other side of the coin.

Many choices in the 2010 All-Star Game were validated through various ways over the last few days.  And all season.

And one major snub will be validated for the same duration.

The Chicago White Sox have surged back to contention in the American League Central.  Great hitting by the likes of Paul Konerko and others, paired with the unbelievable pitching of the starters and bullpen alike, have the Sox 20-5 over the last 25 games.