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  • Greg Wyshynski, ESPNMay 21, 2024, 07:00 AM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

NEW YORK — Mark Messier first met Chris Kreider when the New York Rangers forward was playing at Boston College over a dozen years ago.

“He looked like he was going 100 mph standing still on the ice. He looked like a Ferrari,” Messier said. “You don’t realize how big he is until you get up next to him. He’s so perfectly proportioned.”

It’s the 30th anniversary of the Rangers’ last Stanley Cup victory in 1994, perhaps the signature moment in Messier’s Hockey Hall of Fame career. He won league MVP twice and playoff MVP once, and he’s third all time in career points scored. But that image of Messier becoming the first Rangers player in 54 years to lift the Cup — after successfully guaranteeing victory in the Eastern Conference finals as their captain — still defines him decades later.

“I’ll tell you what: You make your money in the regular season, but you make your name in the playoffs,” Messier said. “And Chris Kreider is a playoff performer.”

No one has scored more postseason goals in Rangers history than Kreider’s 47 tallies in 117 games. The 33-year-old winger is also second to defenseman Dan Girardi (122 games) in team history in postseason appearances. When the games matter most, Kreider has mattered the most for the Rangers.

“At the end of the day, there’s a lot of things you have to do inside of the game. But one thing I know you have to do is put the puck in the net, and he has an incredible knack for that,” said coach Peter Laviolette, who led the Rangers to the President’s Trophy in his first season with New York. “Chris has been a great leader on this team. We needed to have a big performance in Game 6, and I thought he really delivered.”

If Kreider’s reputation as a playoff star wasn’t already cemented, it became concrete after his natural hat trick in the third period to eliminate the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6 of their second-round series. Only two other players in NHL history have had a natural hat trick in the third period that included a series-clinching goal — the others were Jake Guentzel with Pittsburgh in 2018 and Ottawa forward Jack Darragh in 1920.

“I think we were down on ourselves after the first two periods [of Game 6]. Whenever you’re in a spot like that, you need your big players to come up big, and that’s what Chris did,” Rangers center Vincent Trocheck said.

Kreider’s hat trick sent the Rangers to the Eastern Conference finals, where they’ll face the Florida Panthers starting Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+) for the chance to play for the Stanley Cup.

It also inspired one of the Stanley Cup playoffs’ oddest images: Kreider removing hats that were thrown on his lawn by celebrating neighbors after his victorious team returned from Raleigh last week.

“I can’t believe he picked them up by himself. He should’ve had someone else go pick them up,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba joked.

Those hats on the grass are indicative of Kreider’s importance to Rangers fans and his status as a franchise icon. “He is right up there with the best of them,” said Ryan Callahan, who played eight seasons with the Rangers.

Callahan sees the Rangers’ recent history as a series of eras. There was the generation that won in 1994, with homegrown players like Brian Leetch and Mike Richter blending with imports like Messier. Then came the Henrik Lundqvist generation, which crossed over with the early part of Kreider’s career. But this generation, according to Callahan, “is definitely Chris Kreider’s generation” with the Rangers.

“If they go on to win a Cup, I could see his number in the rafters. That’s how impactful he’s been on this generation,” Callahan said. “Even if they don’t, who knows? He’s had so much success there.”

MESSIER SAID THAT Kreider is a “conscientious” player.

He plays in all situations and makes a difference in each phase of the game. Kreider has averaged 3:40 per game on the power play in this playoff run, when he has two goals and two assists, and he has averaged 1:59 per game on the penalty kill, where he has a shorthanded goal and an assist. His mind is on all facets of the game, at all times. His teammates have described him as “very intelligent,” on and off the ice.

“He’s a thinker. At times early in his career, I think he might have been paralyzed with a little too much thought and perhaps was too hard on himself,” Messier said. “Those are the things that come with maturity.”

Understanding the plight of a young player, Kreider took a rookie under his wing this season — a 6-foot-7 one at that. Forward Matt Rempe became Kreider’s teammate at the Rangers’ Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium, and he said Kreider has been a valuable advisor during a turbulent first year in the NHL.

“He’s been so good to me. Like a big brother. I talk to him every day. He gives me books to read. We talk about bulls— fantasy books that we’re reading,” Rempe said. “For the last two months, I’ve just been reading all the books he’s been giving me.”

Kreider has been known as the Rangers’ renaissance man during his 12-season NHL career, which began after they drafted him 19th overall out of Boston College in 2009. Teammates have noted the Massachusetts native has a noticeable intellectual curiosity.

Kreider speaks multiple languages, including Spanish and Russian. Along with his fantasy book recommendations to Rempe, Kreider once put together a summer reading list for CNBC that spanned from Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” to Daniel Coyle’s “The Talent Code,” which argues that greatness isn’t born but can be grown within an individual.

“This book will change your perspective on what society has labeled ‘natural talent,’ and will hopefully convince you that you can teach yourself basically anything if you work smart,” he said at the time.

Kreider has his share of talents, starting with his speed. “I think his speed is just tremendous,” said Callahan, who would later face Kreider as an opponent with the Tampa Bay Lightning. “It’s straight-line speed. It’s not east-to-west speed or anything like that. The kind of speed when you’re on the ice against him, it’s almost intimidating the power he has coming at you.”

But as “The Talent Code” proffers, there are other aspects to Kreider’s game that weren’t inherent. Things he has taught himself through the years.

“When I first played with him, he wasn’t known for being a net-front presence guy who tipped the puck or anything like that. I think he’s kind of evolved,” Callahan said. “He realized with his strength and his size that if he goes to that area he could do damage.”

Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick has known Kreider for a while, having skated and trained with him during the summer. But he’s seeing a different side of Kreider as a teammate, having previously been acquainted with his back while Kreider was planted in front of the crease.

“It’s difficult to play against him because he’s not trying to do one thing every time. He has different things he could do; you’re trying to figure out which one he is going to do,” Quick explained. “He could score on tips, he could score on screens, he could score dropping off with the chop. He’s as good as there is in front of the net.”

True to form, Kreider’s natural hat trick in Game 6 against Carolina totaled just 18 feet in distance for the three goals.

The combination of speed and immovability in front of the net makes Kreider a unique talent in today’s NHL.

“What makes him special is his speed and his size. I think he’s one of the true power forwards that are left in the league,” Callahan said. “He’s like an old-school power forward where he’s fast, he’s big and strong.”

The NHL has seen elite players add to their games as they age. Steve Yzerman went from being an offensive dynamo to a Selke Trophy-winning, two-way player. Jaromir Jagr went from skating through defensemen with Connor McDavid-like precision to more of a power forward later in his career. Callahan said it takes a special player to augment what they already do with new tricks.

“I think there’s a lot of guys that are set in their ways, right? That had success as they were younger and they get stubborn. They feel like that’s the way they have to produce,” he said. “Kreider realized that with his size and his strength that if he gets to that front of the net, he’s going to get a lot of opportunities if he goes to those dirty areas, he is going to get a lot of opportunities. You don’t see that often, guys adding that extra element to their game at the pro level.”

But one of the biggest lessons Kreider has learned through his career is when to rise to the occasion, said his coach.

“He’s learned that in the biggest moments, some guys really step up and they’re able to deliver what can make a hockey game go your way. He’s one of those guys,” Laviolette said.

Just don’t ask Kreider if he savors those moments.

play

2:01

E:60: ‘No Easy Victories – The 1994 New York Rangers’ trailer

Premiering June 4 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Plus, relive the journey of the Rangers’ chase for the Stanley Cup in 1994.

KREIDER SAT IN HIS dressing room stall at the Rangers’ practice facility near Tarrytown. He was a few days removed from Game 6 in Raleigh, and a few days before facing the Panthers in the conference finals.

Did he think about the enormity of that moment against the Hurricanes during the break?

“You turn the page,” he said.

What about immediately after Game 6? Did he savor it even a little bit?

Kreider pretended to hold an open book in his left hand, then pretended to turn a large page from one side to another with his right hand, drawing laughter from the assembled media.

“I mean, we’re in the middle of a playoff run. Got a ways to go. We’ve got to prepare for our first game [against Florida],” he said.

Linemate Jack Roslovic, whom the Rangers acquired at the trade deadline from Columbus, has come to know this dichotomy of Chris Kreider: the dry humor blended with stoic focus on the task at hand.

“Just an awesome human,” he said. “He’s very light, but very serious.”

Does Kreider typically strike the balance well behind the scenes?

“Most of the time. Except for when he’s having a bad day,” Roslovic said.

The days on the ice have been mostly good for Kreider over the past few seasons. He had 10 postseason goals in the Rangers’ run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2022. In last year’s disappointing seven-game loss to the New Jersey Devils, Kreider had six goals. His hat trick against the Hurricanes gives him seven goals in 10 games in the 2024 playoffs.

In the regular season, Kreider is seventh among all NHL players in goals scored over the past three seasons (127), including a career-high 52 tallies in 2021-22. This season, he passed Adam Graves (280) on the Rangers’ all-time goal-scoring list, leaving him behind only Rod Gilbert (406) and Jean Ratelle (336).

“It’s cool, especially for an organization like the Rangers, an Original Six team, all the legends, all the names, big names, who have played here and he’s getting up there with those records,” said Mika Zibanejad, who has been Kreider’s friend and frequent linemate since the Rangers acquired him in 2016. “Just the fact that he’s been here his whole career and has been able to do what he’s done is impressive.”

Gilbert’s No. 7 and Ratelle’s No. 19 hang from the rafters at Madison Square Garden. So does No. 11, for both Vic Hadfield and Messier, the latter of whom believes Kreider’s longevity and productivity with the Rangers could result in his No. 20 joining those legends in the Garden ceiling.

“One of the great things about Chris is that he was drafted by the Rangers and he’s played his whole career there,” Messier said. “You think about Brian Leetch and Mike Richter, the players that were drafted and played their entire careers there. … Chris came in, got out of college and really carved out a niche for himself with the Rangers. He’s turned into a bona fide star.”

Kreider could end up with his name on a banner in the MSG rafters one day. But more important for him at the moment is being eight wins away from helping this Rangers team earn its own banner inside the Garden and a place in history.

“When you go to Madison Square Garden, you see our ’94 championship banner hanging there. That will never be taken down,” Messier said. “To have a banner raised above the biggest stage in New York City, maybe the biggest cathedral in sports, is pretty powerful.”

That’s the legacy Chris Kreider is creating, goal after goal, moment after moment for the Rangers.

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2025 MLB All-Star rosters: Biggest snubs and other takeaways

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July 7, 2025

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2025 MLB All-Star rosters: Biggest snubs and other takeaways

  • Bradford DoolittleJul 6, 2025, 05:38 PM ET

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      • MLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com
      • Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com
      • Been with ESPN since 2013

The initial 2025 MLB All-Star Game rosters are out, the product of the collaborative process between fans, players and the league. How did this annual confab do?

We already know that injuries will prevent some of these selectees from appearing in Atlanta, and replacement choices will be announced in the coming days. By the end of this post-selection period, we’ll wind up with something like 70 to 75 All-Stars for this season.

These first-draft rosters contain 65 players, the odd number stemming from the decision to send Clayton Kershaw to the festivities as a “Legend” pick. First reaction: Baseball’s newest member of the 3,000 strikeout club has earned everything he gets.

Now, on to the nitpicking.

American League

Biggest oversight: Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins

The Twins’ lone representative on the initial rosters is outfielder Byron Buxton, a worthy selection. Ryan (8-4, 2.76 ERA) fell into a group of similar performers including Kansas City’s Kris Bubic and the Texas duo of Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. Bubic and deGrom made it, which is great, and Bubic in particular is quite a story.

But Ryan and Eovaldi didn’t make it, and both were probably a little more deserving that Seattle’s Bryan Woo, whose superficial numbers (8-4, 2.77) are very close to Ryan’s. But Woo plays in a more friendly pitching park, and the under-the-hood metrics favor Ryan.

The main takeaway: If this is the biggest discrepancy, the process worked well.

Second-biggest oversight: Many-way tie between several hitters

The every-team-gets-a-player rule, along with positional requirements, always knocks out worthy performers from teams with multiple candidates. Thus, a few picks on the position side might have gone differently.

The Rays are playing so well they probably deserve more than one player. Their most deserving pick made it — infielder Jonathan Aranda — along with veteran second baseman Brandon Lowe. Infielders such as J.P. Crawford (Seattle), Isaac Paredes (Houston) and Zach McKinstry (Detroit) had good cases to make it ahead of Lowe, whose power numbers (19 homers, 54 RBIs) swayed the players.

While acknowledging that Gunnar Henderson has had a disappointing season, I still think he deserved to be the Orioles’ default pick instead of Ryan O’Hearn. But the latter was selected as the AL’s starting DH by the fans, and Baltimore doesn’t deserve two players. It’s a great story that O’Hearn will be a first-time All-Star just a couple of weeks before his 32nd birthday.

Other thoughts

• The default White Sox selection is rookie starter Shane Smith, a Rule 5 pick from Milwaukee last winter. Smith is my lowest-rated player on the AL squad, but he has been consistently solid. Adrian Houser, an in-season pickup, has been great for Chicago and has arguably produced more value than Smith. But I like honoring the rookie who has been there the whole campaign.

• The Athletics’ Jacob Wilson was elected as a starter and is easily the most deserving player from that squad. I’m not sure I see a second pick there, but Brent Rooker made it as a DH. Rooker has been fine, but his spot could have gone to one of the overlooked hitters already mentioned, or perhaps Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia.

• Houston’s Jeremy Pena is a deserving choice and arguably should be the AL’s starter at shortstop instead of Wilson. Alas, he’s on the injured list, and though reports say he might soon resume baseball activities, it’s likely Pena will be replaced. Any of the above-mentioned overlooked hitters will do.

• As for the starters, the fans do a great job nowadays. I disagreed with them on a couple of spots, though. I would have gone with a keystone combo of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Pena rather than Gleyber Torres and Wilson, but I’d have them all on the team. And I would have definitely started Buxton over Javier Baez in the outfield.

National League

Biggest oversight: Juan Soto, New York Mets

Not sure how this happens, but I’m guessing Soto is a victim of his own standards. Yes, he signed a contract for an unfathomable amount of money, and so far, he hasn’t reinvented the game as a member of the Mets. He has just been lower-end Juan Soto, which is still one of the best players in the sport. His OBP is, as ever, north of .400, he leads the league in walks and it sure seems as if Pete Alonso has very much enjoyed hitting behind him.

The All-Star Game was invented for players like Soto, and though you might leave out someone like him if he is having a truly poor season, that’s not the case here. It is kind of amazing that he didn’t make it, while MacKenzie Gore and James Wood — both part of the trade that sent Soto from Washington to San Diego — did. They deserve it, and you can make a strong argument that a third player the Nats picked up in the trade — CJ Abrams — does as well. But Soto deserves it too.

Finally, the Marlins’ most-deserving pick is outfielder Kyle Stowers, who indeed ended up as their default selection. But he probably ended up with Soto’s slot.

Second-biggest oversight: Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s hard to overlook anyone on the Dodgers, but somehow Pages slipped through the cracks despite his fantastic all-around first half for the defending champs.

It was just a numbers game. I’ve got five NL outfielders rated ahead of Pages, and all but Soto made it, so no additional quibbles there. The fans voted in Ronald Acuna Jr. to start at his home ballpark. Having Acuna there in front of the fans in Atlanta makes sense. But he has played only half of the first half.

Other thoughts

• The shortstop position is loaded in the NL, but the only pure shortstops to make it were starter Francisco Lindor and Elly De La Cruz. Both are good selections, but the Phillies’ Trea Turner has been just as outstanding. Abrams and Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo are also deserving. The position has been so good that the player with the most career value currently playing shortstop in the NL — Mookie Betts — barely merits a mention. Betts has had a subpar half, but who will be surprised if he’s topping this list by the end of the season?

• Both leagues had three pitching staff slots given to relievers. The group in the AL (Aroldis Chapman, Josh Hader and Andres Munoz) was much more clear-cut than the one in the NL, which ended up with the Giants’ Randy Rodriguez, the Mets’ Edwin Diaz and the Padres’ Jason Adam. It made sense to honor someone from San Diego’s dominant bullpen, and you could have flipped a coin to pick between Adam and Adrian Morejon.

• Picking these rosters while meeting all the requirements and needs for teams and positions is hard. I don’t have any real issue with the pitchers selected for the NL. One of them is Atlanta’s Chris Sale, who is on the IL and will have to be replaced. My pick would be Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sanchez (7-2, 2.68 ERA).

• And for the starting position players, Alonso should have gotten the nod over Freddie Freeman at first base, though it will be great to see Freeman’s reception when he takes the field in Atlanta. For that matter, the Cubs’ Michael Busch has had a better first half than Freeman at this point, though that became true only in the past few days, thanks to his explosion at Wrigley Field. I would have gone with Turner at short, but it’s close. And I’d have started Wood in place of Acuna.

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Nats seek ‘fresh approach,’ fire Martinez, Rizzo

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July 7, 2025

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Nats seek 'fresh approach,' fire Martinez, Rizzo

  • Jesse RogersJul 6, 2025, 06:35 PM ET

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      Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.

The last-place Washington Nationals fired president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez, the team announced Sunday.

Rizzo, 64, and Martinez, 60, won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019, but the team has floundered in recent years. This season, the Nationals are 37-53 and stuck at the bottom of the National League East after getting swept by the Boston Red Sox this weekend at home. Washington hasn’t finished higher than fourth in the division since winning the World Series.

“On behalf of our family and the Washington Nationals organization, I first and foremost want to thank Mike and Davey for their contributions to our franchise and our city,” principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “Our family is eternally grateful for their years of dedication to the organization, including their roles in bringing a World Series trophy to Washington, D.C.

“While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be. This is a pivotal time for our club, and we believe a fresh approach and new energy is the best course of action for our team moving forward.”

Mike DeBartolo, the club’s senior vice president and assistant general manager, was named interim GM on Sunday night. DeBartolo will oversee all aspects of baseball operations, including the MLB draft. An announcement will be made on the interim manager Monday, a day before the club begins a series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rizzo has been the top decision-maker in Washington since 2013, and Martinez has been on board since 2018. Under Rizzo’s leadership, the team made the postseason four times: in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019. The latter season was Martinez’s lone playoff appearance.

“When our family assumed control of the team, nearly 20 years ago, Mike was the first hire we made,” Lerner said. “Over two decades, he was with us as we went from a fledging team in a new city to World Series champion. Mike helped make us who we are as an organization, and we’re so thankful to him for his hard work and dedication — not just on the field and in the front office, but in the community as well.”

The Nationals are in the midst of a rebuild that has moved slower than expected, though the team didn’t augment its young core much during the winter. Led by All-Stars James Wood and MacKenzie Gore, Washington has the second-youngest group of hitters in MLB and the sixth-youngest pitching staff.

The team lost 11 straight games in a forgettable stretch last month. And during a 2-10 run in June, Washington averaged just 2.5 runs. Since June 1, the Nationals have scored one run or been shut out seven times. In Sunday’s 6-4 loss to Boston, they left 15 runners on base.

There was industry speculation over the winter that the Nationals would spend money on free agents for the first time in several years, but that never materialized. Instead, the team made minor moves, signing free agents Josh Bell and Michael Soroka, trading for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and re-signing closer Kyle Finnegan. Now, the hope is a new management team, both on and off the field, can help change the franchise’s fortunes.

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Kershaw gets special ASG invite; no Soto, Betts

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July 7, 2025

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Kershaw gets special ASG invite; no Soto, Betts

  • David SchoenfieldJul 6, 2025, 05:38 PM ET

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    • Covers MLB for ESPN.com
    • Former deputy editor of Page 2
    • Been with ESPN.com since 1995

The rosters for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game will feature 19 first-timers — and one legend — as the pitchers and reserves were announced Sunday for the July 15 contest at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner who made his first All-Star team in 2011, was named to his 11th National League roster as a special commissioner’s selection.

Kershaw, who became only the fourth left-hander to amass 3,000 career strikeouts, is 4-0 with a 3.43 ERA in nine starts after beginning the season on the injured list. He joins Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera as a legend choice, after the pair of sluggers were selected in 2022.

Kershaw said he didn’t want to discuss the selection Sunday.

Among the first-time All-Stars announced Sunday: Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto; Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood and left-hander MacKenzie Gore; Houston Astros ace Hunter Brown and shortstop Jeremy Pena; and Chicago Cubs 34-year-old left-hander Matthew Boyd.

“It’ll just be cool being around some of the best players in the game,” Wood said.

First-time All-Stars previously elected to start by the fans include Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson, Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Overall, the 19 first-time All-Stars is a drop from the 32 first-time selections on the initial rosters in 2024.

Kershaw would be the sentimental choice to start for the National League, although Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, who leads NL pitchers in ERA and WAR, might be in line to start his second straight contest. Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, a three-time All-Star, is 9-3 with a 2.17 ERA after Sunday’s complete-game victory and also would be a strong candidate to start.

“I think it would be stupid to say no to that. It’s a pretty cool opportunity,” Skenes said about the possibility of being asked to start by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I didn’t make plans over the All-Star break or anything. So, yeah, I’m super stoked.”

Kershaw has made one All-Star start in his career, in 2022 at Dodger Stadium.

Among standout players not selected were New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto, who signed a $765 million contract as a free agent in the offseason, and Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, who had made eight consecutive All-Star rosters since 2016.

Soto got off to a slow start but was the National League Player of the Month in June and entered Sunday ranked sixth in the NL in WAR among position players while ranking second in OBP, eighth in OPS and third in runs scored.

The players vote for the reserves at each position and selected Wood, Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres as the backup outfielders. Kyle Stowers also made it as a backup outfielder as the representative for the Miami Marlins.

Unless Soto later is added as an injury replacement, he’ll miss his first All-Star Game since his first full season in 2019.

The Dodgers lead all teams with five representatives: Kershaw, Yamamoto and starters Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. The AL-leading Detroit Tigers (57-34) and Mariners have four each.

Tigers ace Tarik Skubal will join AL starters Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres and Javier Baez, while Raleigh, the AL’s starting catcher, will be joined by Seattle teammates Bryan Woo, Andres Munoz and Julio Rodriguez.

Earning his fifth career selection but first since 2021 is Texas Rangers righty Jacob deGrom, who is finally healthy after making only nine starts in his first two seasons with the Rangers and is 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA. He has never started an All-Star Game, although Skubal or Brown would be the favorite to start for the AL.

The hometown Braves will have three All-Stars in Acuna, pitcher Chris Sale (his ninth selection, tied with Freeman for the second most behind Kershaw) and first baseman Matt Olson. The San Francisco Giants had three pitchers selected: Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and reliever Randy Rodriguez.

The slumping New York Yankees ended up with three All-Stars: Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Max Fried. The Mets also earned three All-Star selections: Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz.

“Red carpet, that’s my thing,” Chisholm said. “I do have a ‘fit in mind.”

Rosters are expanded from 26 to 32 for the All-Star Game. They include starters elected by fans, 17 players (five starting pitchers, three relievers and a backup for each position) chosen in a player vote and six players (four pitchers and two position players) selected by league officials. Every club must be represented.

Acuna, Wood and Raleigh are the three All-Stars who have so far committed to participating in the Home Run Derby.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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