Boston Red Sox

Busy as Blue Jays Catcher John Buck was collecting his first hit as an All-Star, he still found time to discuss his former teammate, David DeJesus, with WEEI's Alex Speier yesterday in Anaheim. Put bluntly, Buck thinks DeJesus would perform tremendously with the Red Sox or another playoff contender.

Little does Buck realize that he may be playing in Beantown just as quickly as Kansas City's much-discussed outfielder. Perhaps they'll reunite at Fenway.

For Daisuke Matsuzaka, the hype was unavoidable.

If it wasn't the $51 million posting bid that the Red Sox gave to the Seibu Lions, Matsuzaka's Japanese team until 2006, just to have the opportunity to negotiate a contract, it was the rumors of the dynamic stuff that Daisuke possessed.

Reports even surfaced regarding his ability to throw a legendary pitch known as the gyroball.

Fast forward almost three and a half years, and the general perception of Matsuzaka is very different. 

Matsuzaka's time in Boston has been anything but consistent.

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.

ANAHEIM--Every time he walked near the dugout finishing his home run round on the nice, breezy summer night at Angel Stadium, the crowds were as wild and terrifying as the craziest attractions at Disneyland.

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.

Well, it's that time of year again, time for MLB All Star Weekend.  This year, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, (do I really need to say that each time?) play host. 

Following Josh Hamilton's monster performance two years ago (I bet you already forgot that Justin Morneau actually won that Derby), and Prince Fielder's upset of Albert Pujols and St. Louis native Ryan Howard last year on the footsteps of the Gateway Arch, what could be expected for the most installment of the contest?

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.

Ken Griffey, Jr. retired earlier this year. He was in the midst of the worst season of his career, failing to hit any of his career 630 home runs in 2010. Still he will go down in history as one of the greatest sluggers the game of baseball has ever seen.

But he left the game with one major accomplishment missing from his resume: a World Series ring.

And he’s not the only great player to retire without winning it all.