MLB: Trio Gives All-Star Festivities a Canadian Feel

"I'm just glad to get back to where I was before, hopefully a bit better."

Morneau is having a lot more fun this time around.

Last year, earning a spot on the AL All-Star team was a way to silence the many critics of his selection as league MVP in 2006. Posting numbers good enough to get to San Francisco was his way of showing his big year was no fluke.

This year's All-Star appearance just further legitimizes his place among baseball's best thumpers, and the consistency of his production is what he's most satisfied with.

"You want to be playing well enough at the break to be named an All-Star; you want to be there with the best players in the game," said Morneau, batting .323 with 14 homers and 68 RBIs. "Sitting in a room with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, David Ortiz, guys that everybody knows, is an honour, it's pretty cool to think of."

The same goes for Martin, who knows not to take the experience for granted.

The catching field in the NL is as deep as ever, with Cubs rookie Geovany Soto supplanting him as the starter. Atlanta's Brian McCann is also on the team, while the Molina brothers, Bengie in San Francisco and Yadier in St. Louis have strong numbers, too.

"Consistent's good, but I've always liked to improve," said Martin, batting .294 with 10 homers, 45 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. "There's always certain things you can get better at, a lot of guys here are probably perfectionists. They want to keep getting better, and that's a reason why you're good, you don't really accept staying the same. That's my main thing."

What does he want to improve on?

"Everything," he said. "Calling a game, defence, blocking, learning how to get a better step, an extra jump. I want to steal bases, there's so much about the game of baseball that you're never going to stop learning. I just want to make sure I'm not letting anything go by."

That's a quality Morneau and Dempster also share and why this isn't likely to be the last time the all-star game has three Canadians in it. But until it happens again, they all planned to make the most of it.

"It's really special," said Dempster. "There aren't a lot of us in the big-leagues from Canada and to have three of us go to the All-Star Game is good for the young guys of Canada that grow up playing baseball, that there's not only a chance to make it to pro ball, but also to make it to the big-leagues and to be an all-star.

"We'll be out there not only representing our teams but also Canada, so it will be a big moment for all of us."

Courtesy of TSN.CA

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