Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continued his breakout season by making history at the MLB All-Star Game.

The 22-year-old first baseman became the youngest player to win the MLB All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player honor as he powered the American League to a 5-2 win over the National League. The win extended the American League’s All-Star win streak to eight games. This ties the second-longest win streak in All-Star Game history when the NL won eight straight from 1963 to 1970. The longest All-Star win streak was when the National League won 11 straight from 1972 to 1982.

Guerrero made his All-Star Game debut in his third season with a 468-foot, solo homer to left field off the Brewers’ Corbin Burnes in the third inning. The home run extended the AL’s lead to 2-0.

Guerrero’s home run was the 200th home run hit in All-Star Game history. He became the second-youngest player to homer in the All-Star Game at 22 years and 119 days old. Johnny Bench is the youngest player to homer at 21 years and 228 days when he homered in 1969. Not only that, but Guerrero also joined the club of father-son combos to hit long balls in the Midsummer Classic. The elder Vladimir Guerrero knocked an All-Star Game homer in 2006. The pair are the third father-son combo to accomplish this feat after Bobby and Barry Bonds and the Griffeys.

In the fifth inning, the young star’s grounder to second brought home his Toronto teammate Teoscar Hernandez from third base for another RBI to increase the AL’s lead. For his efforts, Guerrero Jr. was named the All-Star MVP, surpassing Ken Griffey Jr. to become the youngest to earn the honor.

The first baseman is currently in an MVP breakout season. He is one of the favorites to win the MVP but faces competition from two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who is also having a breakout season.

Pete Alonso was seemingly cooked in the home run derby, with Orioles slugger Trey Mancini tallying 22 home runs in his final round of swings that needed to be bested by the Mets’ power hitter. Instead of a loss, Alonso cranked out just enough home runs (including six in extra time) to become the third back-to-back Home Run Derby champion, joining Ken Griffey Jr. and Yoenis Cespedes.

In total, Alonso scorched 74 home runs, winning a bejeweled necklace and a cash prize of $1 million. “Being able to showcase that, and really putting on a fun display for fans, I just think it’s a dream come true for me because when I was young, my parents let me stay up past my bedtime to watch this. That was one of the few nights per year I actually got to stay up past my bedtime, just watch incredible feats that you don’t see in a regular baseball game,” Alonso said.

Alonso was up against a host of strong hitters, who were also helped by a well-known hitter-friendly ballpark in Coors Field.

Many had hoped Mancini would win, as his comeback story from stage 3 colon cancer (diagnosed in the spring of 2020 – the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic) was a winner with fans. With every big fly, the underdog gained continually louder cheers from those at the event. “I’m still going through a battle, and there’s so many people going through battles still, but you can go back to where you were before. I feel great about my health and where I am and what the future holds, but you definitely don’t wanna take any day for granted,” Mancini said.

Sadly, the crowd favorite Mancini fell to Alonso in the final round. Overall, there were 208 homers belted in the derby, one of which traveled 520 feet – besting Aaron Judge’s 2018 record of 513 feet. Mammoth blasts were struck by Shohei Ohtani, Matt Olson, Juan Soto, Trevor Story, Salvador Perez and Joey Gallo.

“It’s just truly a blessing,” Alonso said of his incredible victory.

Sony has made a major announcement regarding their upcoming video game MLB The Show 17. On Thursday, the company announced Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. as the game’s cover star. The game will be released for the PlayStation 4 on March 28, 2017.

Release Date Set For Video Game ‘MLB The Show 17’

Availability has not been announced for the PlayStation 3 or PS Vita. There will be an MVP Edition, but the details for that version have not been released.

Griffey Jr., 46, will be a playable character in the game and this will be his first appearance in a video game in 20 years. We’ll have more details on the cover athlete who will be featured on the Canadian version of the Standard Edition soon.

Sports video games have been embracing nostalgia more over the past five years.

When fans pre-order the game, they will receive 10 bonus Standard Packs and a Griffey Jr. card for The Show 17 when they pick up or download the game. If you pre-order at GameStop, you can receive an additional five Standard Packs to bring your total to 15. Lastly, if you pre-order on the PS Store in addition to the 10 standard packs and Ken Griffey Jr. card, you will instantly receive 11,000 in Stubs for The Show 16.

The Hall of Fame Edition of the game costs $99.99 USD/$119.99 CAD (MSRP) and it includes over $205 USD in value, making it a must-have for the most dedicated fans of the Show and The Kid. The Full Contents:

• New Era Hall of Fame Edition 9FIFTY Hat
• Limited Edition MVP Steel Book
• Digital Diamond Dynasty New Era Hall of Fame Edition 9FIFTY Hat for use in game
• Diamond Season Starter Pack (Includes Mission Starter for Diamond item)
• Gold Season Starter Pack (Includes Mission Starter for Gold item)
• 11,000 Stubs
• 1 Sponsor Pack
• 10 Standard Packs
• 31 MLB PS4 Themes

SEATTLE – APRIL 20: Ken Griffey Jr. #24 of the Seattle Mariners bats against the Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field on April 20, 2010 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, two of the most popular players in recent Major League Baseball history were elected to the Hall of Fame: Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza.

Griffey nearly became the first player to receive an unanimous election; he fell three votes short of that, but still set the record for the highest percentage earning 99.3% of the total votes. Despite playing in the steroid era, the slugger’s name was never linked to any accusations of cheating.

“I can’t be upset [about missing out on three votes]. It’s just an honor to be elected, and to have the highest percentage is definitely a shock,” Griffey said on a conference call.

Piazza had to wait slightly longer–this was his fourth year on the ballot as compared to Griffey’s first–but that did not make the moment any less special. “Incredibly special. Wow,” Piazza said on a call with MLB Network. “I sat here with my mouth on the floor,” he said. “Yogi Berra had like four ballots. Joe DiMaggio had three ballots,” Piazza would also say on a conference call. “And so myself being sort of a student of the history of the game, and having respect for the process, it was nail-biting at times, but I had a tremendous amount of support throughout my career from the writers and the fans.”  

Regarded as one of the greatest hitting catchers ever, Piazza is most remembered for hitting an emotional home run 10 days after the 9/11. The shot gave the Mets a lead in the first sporting event played in New York City since the attacks.

Photo: Ken Griffey Jr. by Jodycl via Wikimedia Commons