Once upon a time, B.J. Upton was a fast-rising star in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He has been on just as fast of a decline that culminated with a dugout skirmish with teammate Evan Longoria about a week ago.

Last Wednesday night concluded an entertaining, anticipated, and streak filled month of baseball. The month started out with the retirement of one of the all time greats to ever lace them up, Ken Griffey Jr. The 13 time All-Star held a press conference on June 1st to announce that he was walking away from the game after 21 seasons. He finished his career 5th on the all time HR list with 630 and 14th in RBI with 1836. He was a 10 time Gold Glove winner and the AL MVP in 1997. I have seen few players play the game with as much fun and childlike exuberance as the Kid did and, once again, I tip my cap to the future Hall of Famer.

What if MLB followed the NHL’s lead and set-up its All-Star game using the North America vs. the World format…or in baseball’s case Latin America vs. the World?

As baseball’s reach extends further throughout the world, the idea of Latin American competing with the best from around the globe seems increasingly likely.

Some have dubbed this year as ‘The year of the pitcher’ while others have coined it ‘The year of the prospect.’ Both are correct and what it all amounts to is an influx of talent into the league unlike I have ever seen.

Some people point to the absence of steroids in today’s game as the reason why pitching has been so dominant this year ...