Ironically enough, I was in the Yankees Clubhouse Store in New York City when I heard about the passing of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

As I browsed player t-shirts while watching ESPN, I began to realize what an impact Steinbrenner had on the Yankees.

Love him or hate him, he is a legend. Period.

Steinbrenner knew what he wanted, and he was not afraid to go after it.

The best players in baseball don't always make the All-Star teams. It's a fact of life that we have come to accept.

And yet, each year, we (or at least, I) are shocked by the idiocy of the fan, player, and coach selections. With all of the slumping stars, humdrum homers, and straight-up head-scratchers that end up filling out the rosters, it's hard not to keep thinking about the deserving players who got left off.

I feel terrible for the players who are sitting in their living rooms this All-Star Break, watching their inferior peers being honored on national TV.

It was at a baseball card show in Dec. 2000, a few months after New York's first subway series since 1956.

I had the opportunity to speak with Tug McGraw.

The father of one of my students, Becky Hisler, ran the show. The theme was, of course, the subway series.

Almost all the players signing autographs had been or were still on the New York Yankees or the New York Mets.

My son, Scott, wanted Doc Gooden's autograph. We went into a large room where Gary Carter, Doc Gooden, and Tug McGraw were signing.

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died in Tampa, Florida at the age of 80.

Though one of the most despised, controversial, and notorious owners in the long history of Major League Baseball, Steinbrenner must also be remembered as one of the greats, a giant amongst men.

During Steinbrenner's tenure, the Yankees captured 11 pennants and seven World Series championships.

George Steinbrenner suddenly died this morning at the age of 80 years, but his legacy will go down for one main idea: winning. Winning is what encompassed Steinbrenner's 37 years at the helm of the Yankees. He saw his team win seven World Series, 11 American League pennants and over 3,000 games.

The Yankees won more division titles than any team in baseball since 1973. For those reasons, Steinbrenner will be remembered (at least to Yankee fans) above anything else.

It’s time to check in on three more prospects from around the minor leagues.  Are any of them primed to make an impact in the not too distant future?  Let’s take a look:

As the Red Sox No. 1 fan I was obviously enthused to watch as David Ortiz became the first member of the Boston Red Sox to win the Home Run Derby last night; but, truth be told, I was more delighted the rest of the world got to see the vintage “Big Papi” many of us have come to love over the last several years.Sadly, that guy was missing early this year as David struggled for the second straight spring and many supposed fans and baseball writers called for him to be exiled from Boston.

The Home Run Derby is known as a great opening event to the All-Star game, and unfortunately it is losing popularity amongst players.

The reason it is losing popularity is because many players believe that it will affect their swing during the second half of the season. 

I, for some reason find that the excuse of the home run derby affecting a players swing is bogus, and I'll tell you why.

The players are swinging for the fences tonight and the big sticks are getting broken out.

The only things fans aren't real happy about is the fact that besides Matt Holliday, David Ortiz, and Miguel Cabrera, there aren't those big names participating that can put on a show for the fans in Anaheim.

Guys like Chris Young, Vernon Wells, Corey Hart, and Hanley Ramirez don't really make the every day Home Run derby fan stand up and take notice.

So, in case you didn't get a chance to catch it on television, here's a round by round breakdown of how things went tonight and the standout performers.

It wasn’t that long ago when fans wondered if David Ortiz would ever hit another home run. Today, he’s one of the league leaders in the category and is the 2010 Home Run Derby Champion.

Not bad for a guy who hit two dingers combined in the past two Aprils.