MLB All-Star Game Facts

While Pirates officials and local politicians soaked up the sun and the good news with obvious delight, most of the rest of the baseball world was left wondering how the Bucs had pulled off such a coup.

How, just 12 years after hosting baseball's midseason showcase at Three Rivers Stadium in 1994, had the Pirates managed to convince Selig to hold another game in Pittsburgh? After all, other cities had gone decades since their last shot at the All-Star Game. San Francisco, despite their lovely new ballpark, had pushed hard to bring the Midsummer Classic back to the City by the Bay for the first time since 1984.

The answer, according to Selig, was three-fold.

First and foremost, the Commissioner wanted to reward the Pirates and the city of Pittsburgh for building what ESPN.com in 2003 selected as the best ballpark in the Major Leagues.

"This ballpark is spectacular. It certainly played a critical role," said Selig. "I wouldn't be standing here today if PNC Park didn't exist.

"I felt during the [construction] of PNC Park that we really also had a commitment to this community. If they built it and it worked out well we ought to bring an All-Star Game back."

Selig also believed that the Pirates were in greater need of the economic boost that comes with hosting the All-Star Game than the Giants and other top bidders for the 2006 Midsummer Classic.

At the time of Selig's announcement, the Pirates' full-season ticket base had declined by approximately 50 percent from the opening of PNC Park in 2001 to 8,500 full-season equivalents in 2004. After aligning their full-season ticket plans to the availability of All-Star Game tickets, the Bucs experienced a predictable upturn in sales. More than 11,300 full-season equivalents have been sold for the 2006 season.

The third factor in bringing the All-Star Game back to Pittsburgh so quickly, according to Selig, was the relentless nature in which Pirates CEO and Managing General Partner Kevin McClatchy lobbied the Commissioner's Office.

"Kevin was tenacious, sometimes in a rather intense manner," said Selig. "He really wanted to get it."

McClatchy downplayed his role in securing the 2006 All-Star Game for the Steel City, choosing instead to spread the credit around to all involved.

"Why did we get the 2006 All-Star Game? Because we have the best ballpark in America. Plain and simple," said McClatchy. "The other thing is in 1994 we put on one of the greatest All-Star Games of all time.

"I'm proud for the organization, the people who worked on it and the city. We worked hard and put a pretty good pitch together. It worked out."

Rogers Personal TV is pleased to sponsor the In-Stadium All-Star Balloting for the 77th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, to be held Tuesday, July 11th, at Pittsburgh's PNC Park, the host of the 2006 Midsummer Classic. Rogers returns as the title sponsor for in-stadium balloting for the Toronto Blue Jays. Balloting will begin on Friday night at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, where the Blue Jays will begin a homestand against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and will continue through June 15th. Ballots and ballot boxes will be prominently placed within the Rogers Centre concourses for all fans to cast their votes.

Overall, more than 20 million ballots will be distributed within the 30 Major League Baseball ballparks during the course of the program, and Minor League ballparks will distribute 1.9 million ballots. Each Major League Club will have 23 home dates on which it will conduct balloting, while Minor League clubs will have 15 home dates for balloting. The in-stadium program will conclude at Minor League ballparks by June 17th and at Major League ballparks no later than June 24th. Balloting concludes on MLB.com and the 30 Club Web sites on Thursday, June 29th at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

"Rogers Personal TV is thrilled to be the title sponsor of the In-Stadium All-Star Balloting at the Rogers Centre for the 77th Major League Baseball All-Star Game," said David Purdy, Vice-President and General Manager, Television for Rogers Cable. "With Rogers Personal TV we provide our customers choice - choosing what they want to watch when they want to watch it with programming like our Super Sports Pak including MLB Extra Innings^TM. With this sponsorship we are once again offering Canadians a chance to choose - in this case for their favourite MLB All-Star players."

In addition, fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times with the Monster.com 2006 All-Star Online Ballot at MLB.com and at www.bluejays.com until Thursday, June 29th at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

The 2006 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be unveiled on Sunday, July 2nd with a total of 16 elected starters, as determined by the fan balloting program, and 46 pitchers and reserves, as determined by the player ballot and the two All-Star Team managers - American League manager Ozzie Guillen of the Chicago White Sox and National League manager Phil Garner of the Houston Astros - and Major League Baseball.

Immediately following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will have the opportunity to select the final position player for each League's 32-man roster at MLB.com. The 2006 Monster.com All-Star Final Vote will provide fans the opportunity to cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over a four-day period.

Also, for the second year, fans will be able to vote for their Final Vote selections on their mobile phone. Both winners of the Monster.com All-Star Final Vote will be announced after the voting has concluded on Thursday, July 6th at 6:00 p.m. (EDT).

Fans once again will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet at the 77th All-Star Game via the Monster.com 2006 All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com. The Major League Baseball All-Star Balloting Program is the largest balloting program in professional sports. The fan balloting program will determine the eight position players from each League who will start the 77th All-Star Game. Fan balloting updates will begin with the National League on Tuesday, May 30th. The attached 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Balloting Program Fact Sheet includes detailed information about the balloting dates at Major League ballparks, a list of balloting release dates and the list of the National League and American League players nominated at each position.

The 77th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pre-game ceremonies beginning at 7:30 p.m. (EDT). THE FAN 590, Toronto's Sports Radio, will provide radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage and MLB Radio will provide exclusive play-by-play coverage of the game on the Internet.

ROGERS CABLE COMMUNICATIONS
Rogers Cable Communications Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI; NYSE: RG), a diversified Canadian communications and media company. Rogers Cable's advanced digital two-way network passes approximately 3.4 million homes in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, with 67 percent basic penetration of its homes passed. Rogers Cable pioneered high-speed Internet access and now 34 percent of homes passed by its cable networks are Internet customers while 52 percent of its basic cable customers subscribe to Rogers' high-speed Internet service. With 42 percent digital penetration, Rogers Cable offers a leading selection of High Definition TV programming, a complete array of Rogers On Demand services (including Video on Demand (VOD), Subscription VOD, Personal Video Recorders and Timeshifting channels), and an extensive line-up of sports and multicultural programming. Rogers Cable now offers home telephone service (voice-over-cable) to more than 85 percent of its cable territory and, combined with its circuit switched telephony subscribers, has nearly 400,000 local telephony customers. Rogers Cable also owns and operates over 300 Rogers Video stores.

He stretched, he jogged, and he sprinted just like he normally does before games. And once the All-Star Game started, he hit.

As usual.

"You don't have that much time here," Ichiro said after he made a key contribution to the American League's 7-5 victory. "Before team stretch, I went to find the time to keep my mind and body moving."

The mind, the body, and the skill all worked together on Tuesday at Comerica Park.

Ichiro entered in the top of the fourth to play center field and faced Nationals right-hander Livan Hernandez in the bottom of the frame. He worked the count to 3-0, then fouled one off before singling to right field to score Boston's Jason Varitek and Baltimore's Brian Roberts to give the AL a 5-0 lead. He finished 1-for-2.

"You don't want to come to the All-Star Game and walk," Ichiro said. "On that 3-0 pitch, I was going to swing at it if it was above my toes. You just want to come here and hit."

He moved to right field in the ninth inning.

"I had not played center field in a while," Ichiro said. "You are out there playing the game in different angles so it's really fun to be out there. ... If [the Mariners] want me there I will do it."

Ichiro's performance on Tuesday did not come as a surprise. He has impressed fans and peers alike since he first arrived in the AL in 2001. Last season, he set the record for base hits in a season with 262.

"He's one of those guys who can foul a ball off on purpose, one of the rare guys in the game who can do that," Boston pitcher Matt Clement said. "The worst thing you can do against him is walk him, because you don't want that speed on the bases. Then again, he gets 200 or something hits every year so he gets on base anyway. I just give him my best stuff. If he beats me with my best stuff, I can almost live with that."

One of the most respected hitters in both leagues, Ichiro's foes in the AL West have come to know him well. That's not necessarily a good thing.

Just ask Oakland reliever Justin Duchscherer.