(Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

We all know lots of great towns in the USA, and I bet most of us say we live in one (and most of us are right).

We all grow up in towns, and the town we live in helps us grow and become who we are.

There is one town in the in the USA that has not held back on growing men to be strong and successful.

And that town is Chesapeake, Virginia.

Not to take away from the other great towns in America or in the world. But this town is something else, something special.

Most towns don't produce any professional athletes, at least not any major ones.

Few towns have a hometown hero that is a professional athlete, but not many of them.

Even fewer have more then one, only the very special town may have two.

But this town has a few great professional athletes.

Pro Bowl Cornerback DeAngelo Hall of the Washington Redskins is from Chesapeake, Virginia. So that's one great, young football player.

But, wait there's more—NASCAR racer Richard Rudd is also from Chesapeake, Virginia.

And that's not all—lots of baseball stars are from Chesapeake, Virginia. 

For starters, All-Star third baseman David Wright, captain of the New York Mets, one of the best third basemen in the National League.

Being a captain is is not easy; being a captain in New York is even harder.

He is one of the better hitters in the NL, though his power has gone down this season. But the batting average is in the sky.

Another star third baseman form Chesapeake is Ryan Zimmerman. He grew up just 15 minuets away from David Wright, and they are good friends.

He is also one of the best third baseman in baseball, and a leader of his team. He is also an All-Star.

The Nationals see him as their future, and this year they gave him a contract extension for four years.

So you think that is it? No, we are just getting started.

The Upton brothers also grew up in Chesapeake, Virgina. B.J. and Justin Upton are young stars, B.J. for the Rays and Justin for the D-Backs. B.J. is considered the better one, but Justin is having the better year.

Another star baseball player from Chesapeake, Virgina is Michael Cuddyer, outfielder for the Twins.

So what's in the water?

How are these guys so good?

I think it is a combination of things.

The high schools, friends, community, and all kind of things that they all have in common.

And I guess having the Norfolk Tides (AAA team) close to home does not hurt.

We don't know what exactly it is, but we do know that Chesapeake, Virginia is a good place to grow an athlete.

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